Frozen: The Last Paragons
by InfiniteCypher
Summary: A mysterious girl ruining Kristoff and Anna's wedding is the least of Arendelle's problems. Infamous mercenaries are searching for a fabled lost city with a hidden power that could prove destructive to the world should it fall into the wrong hands. The heroes of Arendelle - now accompanied by a stranger - must leave their home to protect this power and ultimately protect the world.
1. Mark of the Red Wolves

**This story is an exciting action-adventure-fantasy with comedic and romantic moments. It takes the beloved characters from Frozen and puts them in an adventure with the scale and scope of Indiana Jones. The story shall focus on the themes of loyalty, redemption, and companionship. Without further ado, I present...**

 **Frozen: The Last Paragons**

 **1\. Mark of the Red Wolves**

* * *

 **July, 1840 - One year after The Great Thaw**

"Now, I know what you're thinking," Talia nervously said. "What unfortunate turn of events led to us being here at this moment?"

Talia stood with her hands hand-cuffed behind her back and two guards dressed in green, Arendelle garb standing to her left and right. Twenty feet in front of her was an elevated platform where the throne of Arendelle was located, and sitting on the throne was none other than Queen Elsa.

Standing to Elsa's right was Princess Anna, impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed. Both of the sisters looked less-than thrilled. As always, Elsa wore her signature blue dress and cape. Anna, however, wore a wedding dress... covered in liquid chocolate.

Despite being a prisoner, Talia was wearing what she often wore: a navy-blue bolero jacket over a long-sleeved, buttoned-up black shirt which frilled over the chest, and thigh-high brown leather boots that went over her beige pants. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her striking grey eyes were doing their best to look friendly. She was definitely prettier than most prisoners.

"Public disturbance," Elsa stated, "destruction of royal property, assault against multiple people including royal guards, and one more thing you did. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"She kinda ruined my wedding," Anna reminded. "Y'know, months of planning _down_ the drain."

"Ah, yes," confirmed Elsa. "Crashing a royal wedding - that's a big one. You picked a bad day to come to Arendelle, Miss..."

"Talia," she answered. "Talia Ashe. Besides, it's not like I _deliberately_ ruined what was supposed to be the happiest day of the princess' life."

" _Thank_ you for that," muttered Anna.

"I didn't start it," Talia continued. "I'm a victim in this, if anything."

Elsa and Anna both raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, bad word choice," apologized Talia. "Anyways - long story short - the Red Wolves are planning on doing some bad things. That's why I'm here."

"No, you're here because of your crimes," Elsa corrected. "But, I might as well humor you. What are the Red Wolves?"

"Oh, they're nothing but trouble," said Kristoff's voice.

Everyone turned to the source of the sound. From the side of the room, Kristoff appeared - having finished wiping chocolate off of himself. Olaf the Snowman waddled behind the mountain-man; a large grin was on his face like always.

"How do you mean?" Anna asked as Kristoff took his place at her side.

"The Red Wolves Are mercenaries," answered Kristoff. "They're said to be the best at what they do, but they're ruthless. If they're planning on doing something bad, that-"

"Sounds positively terrible!" Olaf exclaimed.

"Is... is that snowman alive?" Talia asked.

She looked genuinely shocked at the sight in front of her. Funnily enough, a woman with powers of winter was more believable than a talking snowman as far as Talia was concerned. The others ignored Talia's question, however.

"Exactly." Kristoff nodded. "If they're involved, we have bigger problems than a spoiled wedding."

All focus turned to Talia. She nervously smiled up at the Queen and her family.

"Well, Talia, what's your story?" Elsa asked. "You've got plenty of time to tell it."

* * *

 **Earlier that week**

The door to the tavern slammed open, and a man with broken glasses and torn-yet-fancy clothing fell forward onto the floor. His hands were tied in a rope behind his back.

The many patrons of the tavern scattered around on the many round tables put their drinks down to look at the man laying on the floor. The bartender dropped the glass cup that he was polishing.

The man on the floor scrambled onto his feet and ran deeper into the tavern until he slammed against the long bar counter. That angered the bartender who pushed the man off from against the table.

"Somebody order a tax collector?" asked the voice of a man from the tavern entrance. "If no one did, then this grand entrance would be embarrassing."

Everyone turned their attention away from the man with his hands tied to the new man entering the tavern.

He was much younger than the person who fell into the tavern, but he was taller at around six-feet-tall. He wore a navy-blue tailcoat which he kept unbuttoned to reveal his buttoned-up grey shirt. His navy-blue pants were complimented by black boots. Over his waist was a belt which holstered a revolver and a sword with evenly-spaced horizontal lines running across the blade.

His eyes were an intense, dark grey color, and his short black hair was unkempt. The most prominent feature of his face was a large scar than ran from under his left eye diagonally downwards over his nose and lips to his chin. He wasn't clean shaven but rather growing a scruff of black hair over his cheeks, chin, and upper lip.

After he entered the tavern, Talia followed him. She wore more or less the same outfit she was fond of wearing.

"Mercury," announced an older man who got up from his seat and table near the entrance. There was nothing too special about that man's appearance. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties with dark hair and a full beard and mustache. His clothing was similar to the middle-class clothing the rest of the people in the tavern and village wore.

The man Talia followed, who went by Mercury, approached the bound man who tried to scramble away. Mercury grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tugged him along towards the older gentleman.

* * *

 **Present day**

"Wait a minute, you know Mercury of the Red Wolves?" asked Kristoff.

"What kind of name is Mercury?" Anna asked.

"A codename," Talia explained. "We use them to protect our identities from the public and all that good stuff. To prevent any and all authorities from going after us individually and whatnot."

"Us?" Elsa noticed. "You're a Red Wolf too?"

"Didn't I mention that?" said Talia.

Kristoff seemed unfazed by that revelation. He said, "Hold up, Talia. You know Mercury of the Red Wolves? The same man who killed five men with a _feather_?"

"That story is highly exaggerated," said Talia. "He used the feather as a distraction, and he took them down with his hands... Only one of the men died."

They could sense that she was very uneasy with talking about Mercury's actions.

Kristoff continued by saying, "The same man who singlehandedly stole a queen's diamond necklace straight from her neck during a royal party?"

"Oh, yeah," reminisced Talia. "That was a fun day. It wasn't singlehanded, though. I helped. Of course, I'm not as famous as he is, so I don't get the credit."

"You were there?!" Kristoff was in disbelief. "Can I have your autograph?"

"Anna, I think your fiancé has a crush," Elsa whispered.

"Of course I was there," said Talia. "Of course I know Mercury. He's my older brother."

She said it rather nonchalantly, but Kristoff was awestruck by the statement. The quivering of his legs implied his need to get on his knees. Elsa, Anna, and Talia found Kristoff's behavior rather strange. Olaf, of course, lacked social skills and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"His real name is Atticus," Talia revealed. "Atticus Ashe. Professionally, everyone knows him as Mercury. As for me, my codename is Minerva, but I'd prefer that you call me Talia."

"I'm assuming you mercenaries have codenames for a reason," Elsa reasoned. "Why're you telling us this?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm not with the Wolves anymore," said Talia. "So, I don't give a flying fu-"

* * *

 **Earlier**

"Here he is." Atticus presented the tied-man to the older gentleman greeting him. "Your friendly local tax collector."

After a chuckle, the older man rubbed his hands together and said, "Thank you, Mercury. You must know that my colleagues were incredibly unsure about hiring a Red Wolf to save us from this horrid man. I told them that they were being very paranoid. I knew you guys were the best, and to have _the_ Mercury of all people to do the job was a real delight. You are without a doubt the greatest mer-"

"Save me the flattery, old man," Atticus interrupted. "We don't work for free, and this job was particularly - no pun intended - taxing. Give me what I'm owed, then I'll give you the man, and we'll all part happily, Mister..."

"Robert," said the old man.

"Bob," Atticus finished.

Robert sighed, obviously dreading the moment he would have to pay. He slapped his hands against his thighs and said, "Okay, Mercury. Allow me to convene with my colleagues and gather the coin you're so rightfully owed. Please, have a drink in the meantime. The bartender was also a victim of this tax collector, and he's a good friend of mine. He'll serve you your drink on the house."

"I wasn't planning on paying anyways," Atticus said as he walked passed Robert. He bumped shoulders with the captured tax collector, and the poor man whimpered and winced.

Talia walked after Atticus, but as she passed the tax collector, she put her hand on his shoulder and told him, "Go have a time out in the corner." He scurried away after she winked. Then, she took the empty stool next to her brother at the bar.

"Whiskey," Atticus ordered. "Hold the ice. Give me the entire bottle."

"You got a death wish, kid?" the bartender asked.

"You have no idea," muttered Atticus.

"And for the lady?" the bartender inquired.

"Milk," ordered Talia.

"You sure you don't want anything _stronger_?"

"Milk is fine," assured Talia.

The bartender then went off to prepare the drinks.

"You're twenty-two," Atticus reminded his sister. "You need to have your first drink someday. Why not make it today?"

* * *

 **Present day**

"You're twenty-two years old?" Olaf asked. " _Elsa_ is twenty-two years old. You guys are like twins."

"That's not how it works, Olaf," Elsa lectured.

"Wait, I'm twenty-two, too," Kristoff added. "With Olaf's logic, are we triplets?"

"No, that doesn't make sense," Olaf stated. "Elsa and Talia are good-looking."

* * *

 **Earlier**

"We need to have a _legendary_ occasion, Atty," Talia said.

"We did a job well-done," Atticus reminded. "Seems as good a reason as any to celebrate."

"Congratulations to us," sarcastically said Talia. "Let me have my first drink over kidnapping a wimp."

"Lower your standards, Tali," Atticus suggested. "Are you planning on having your first drink with the Queen of England or something?"

"Something like that," joked Talia.

It was faint, and it was hard to make out from the cheerful chatter of everyone in the tavern, but Talia heard sniffs and whimpers. She recognized the combination as the sound of someone crying. She turned her head to the source of the sound and found a child sitting on the floor against the wall to her right. The little girl wore clothing that was similar in fashion to the rest of the people in the tavern and the village.

"Excuse me for a minute," Talia requested.

Atticus grunted in acknowledgement as his sister got up from her seat. As Talia's attention was turned towards the child, Atticus focused on the pretty girl sitting to his left.

"You planning on staying for another round, or do you want to do something more exciting?" Atticus asked the girl, winking. Her giggle indicated that his lines were working.

Talia got up and approached the crying little girl. She knelt on one knee in front of her, and the child immediately focused on Talia. The warm smile that Talia gave the child comforted the child rather quickly.

"Hey there, little girl," said Talia, very warmly. "What's your name?"

"Daisy," she replied, sniffling.

"What's wrong, Daisy? What're you doing in a place like this all by yourself?"

"Papa... Papa brings me whenever he comes here, but he comes here a lot. We can't afford a babysitter."

"Can't imagine why," Talia sarcastically muttered.

"I went to take a quick nap," the child continued. "When I woke up, I couldn't find him."

"It's already night-time, you should be in bed," observed Talia. "Do you live close to here?"

The child nodded.

"Tell you what," Talia started. "After my brother and I are done with the stuff we have to do here, we'll walk you back home. Sound good?"

The child smiled, furiously nodded, and asked, "Is your brother cool?"

"The coolest. I'm Talia, by the way." She offered Daisy her left hand.

After Daisy shook Talia's hand, she noticed a tattoo on the back of Talia's hand. The tattoo was about two inches in height and length. It depicted the side-profile of a wolf's head colored red. Talia noticed where Daisy's eyes were looking.

"This is a mark," Talia explained. "Everyone in my group has it somewhere on their bodies. My brother has it on his neck. See?"

She pointed towards Atticus. On the right side of Atticus' neck, he had the exact same wolf-mark Talia had on her hand.

"What's it for?" Daisy asked.

"It's to show people who we are," Talia answered. "Sometimes, people want things done, and they need people like me and my brother to do it. If they see the mark, they know we can help them."

"What do you help them with?" Daisy inquired.

Talia let out a deep sigh.

* * *

 **Present day**

"So you went to a random child, offered to accompany her, and she said yes," Elsa summarized.

"In hindsight, it sounds very bad," Talia announced.

"In her defense, it doesn't sound like she learned about the dangers of strangers," Anna said.

"Like you're one to talk," Kristoff joked.

"Hey!" Anna angrily said.

"You know I love you," Kristoff quickly said to defend himself.

"Still, what exactly do you do?" Elsa asked.

Talia, like with the child, let out a deep sigh. She then said, "Ask blonde-boy over there."

Elsa, Anna, and Olaf all turned to Kristoff. He crossed his arms, and started informing his friends of what he knew. "I've only heard stories. I doubt anybody in Arendelle has ever encountered a Red Wolf before. But, I've heard... I've heard that Red Wolves are willing to do any job - no matter how twisted - so as long as they get paid. Assassinations, guarding, thievery, arson, kidnapping, you name it... the Red Wolves can do it. But, that's simply what individuals and small groups can do. Imagine what the masses of them can accomplish."

After he finished speaking, they looked towards Talia once again. She had her head down in what could only be assumed as shame.

"I wish I could say he was wrong," Talia finally said.

* * *

 **Earlier**

Talia rejoined her brother as their drinks were served. Before either of them could toast and sip, Robert grabbed their attention when he called Atticus from behind.

Ignoring his beverage, Atticus turned around on his seat to face Robert. This time, Robert had company. Four other men - all younger than Robert but older than Atticus - stood besides Robert in pairs. Atticus and Talia found themselves facing five men standing ten feet away from them with Robert in the middle.

"You fine gentlemen have my pay?" Atticus asked.

Nodding, Robert tossed to Atticus a small pouch which he caught with one hand; without even looking, Atticus felt around the pouch in his hands, and knew something was off.

He didn't even need to know the amount inside when he said, "You're a few coins short."

He handed the pouch to Talia for her confirmation. She opened the pouch and observed its contents.

"It's hard to count with coins, but I estimate it's about two-hundred-and-fifty," Talia informed.

"The deal was for two-thousand-five-hundred," reminded Atticus. "I'm sure you can do the math yourself, but you didn't make the mark."

"Mercury, that man has taken too much from us," Robert argued. "We simply can't afford to pay you what you desire. Think of the children."

"Really? A sob story?" Atticus was in disbelief. "That's all you got?"

"Atty, let's just take it." Talia whispered in her brother's ear. He seemingly ignored her suggestion.

"That's not how I do business," said Atticus. "It wasn't easy breaking into that guy's estate. I _see_ you trying to sneak out, by the way!"

The tax collector immediately ran away from the door out.

"He's hired some tough bodyguards, and we didn't take them down just to be ripped off," Atticus continued. "Give me the money you owe, and we'll all be happy. Otherwise, we'll be less so."

"Technically, nothing was written down on paper," Robert reminded. "You don't have any proof that we agreed to two-thousand-and-five-hundred."

"Oh, you're despicable," Atticus insulted, laughing. "Keep this up, and you won't have any proof that I was the one who stabbed you in the eye."

"Atty, we really should just take it and go," Talia insisted. This time, she was loud enough for the others to hear. She then noticed how everyone in the tavern was listening to the hostile exchange.

"You don't think we can take them?" Atticus asked his sister.

"I know we can," she said. "I just don't want anybody getting hurt." She looked over at the little girl, Daisy, who watched the conversation very nervously.

"I'm afraid we can't give you anymore," Robert said. "I suggest you do what your colleague says. Otherwise, we'd be forced to remove you."

"You don't honestly think you can fight me, do you?" Atticus asked. "Of course you don't. If you did, you'd have dealt with the tax collector yourselves. Still, what're you going to do? Hire another mercenary? Good luck finding one dumb enough to take me on for two-hundred-and-fifty."

Robert squeezed both fists behind his back and clenched his teeth. Finally, he said, "Okay, Mercury, you win. You'll have your money in a bit."

"You lack sincerity," observed Atticus.

"Why should that matter?" Robert asked. "You'll be paid in full."

In response, Atticus shrugged. He seemed ready to accept the fact that Robert conceded. Talia let out a sigh of relief. Atticus grabbed his whiskey sitting on the counter behind him. As he raised it to his lips, he frowned, and gently put the drink back down on the counter. Talia raised her eyebrow at her brother's gesture. It wasn't like him to forfeit a good drink like that.

"What's the matter?" Robert asked. "I said you'll be paid in full. Sure, our children will have fewer meals in the coming months, but that doesn't seem to bother you. Celebrate!"

"I'm insulted, Bob," announced Atticus. "You seem to know a lot about my exploits, but you seem to know little about my character. I need you to know that I'm a learned man. I'm twice as learned as you, yet I'm half your age. That's besides the point, however. The point is: I know a few things about poisons. I know when my drink is spiked."

Robert was clearly getting nervous. He stayed silent, however.

Talia's palms were getting rather sweaty. She knew that Robert had underestimated her brother, and it could possibly and probably lead to an ugly ending.

"I had a feeling the bartender was taking too long preparing the drinks," continued Atticus. "So, what was your plan? Poison me if I didn't take the amount you gave me? Poison me _regardless_?"

"Atty, let it go," Talia ordered.

"Forgive me, Mercury," Robert pleaded. "We'll pay you in full. Just give us a month."

"I might've considered doing so if you hadn't tried to kill me," said Atticus.

Despite the anger Robert's actions had warranted, Atticus was very calm about the situation. He seemed to be the only one in the entire tavern who wasn't sweating with trepidation.

Robert noticed Atticus' hand make its way to his waist where his revolver hung. Afraid that Atticus was going to shoot first, Robert grabbed the knife at his side and charged at the mercenary. The four companions of Robert quickly followed his lead and unsheathed their knives. They weren't afraid of getting dirty, even in the presence of everyone in the tavern.

They were only ten feet away from Atticus initially, so it wouldn't be long before they would reach him and use a deadly strike.

Five gunshots were made. In what seemed like a split second, all five men were on the ground five feet in front of Atticus. Two of the men were shot in the shoulder. Two of the men were missing fingers on one hand. Robert was shot in his knee. All of the men rolled on the floor in pain, hugging their wounds.

"What have you done?" Talia quietly asked.

She got over her horror for a quick second to notice the bartender brandishing a knife behind Atticus - who was still sitting on his stool. She reached over the counter, grabbed the bartender by the neck, and slammed his head down against the counter. This led him to slump unconsciously onto the floor.

"I've got one shot left," Atticus told Robert. "It could go in-between your eyes. Hell, I'd settle with a lower region if you catch my drift. Where do you want it to go?"

"Enough," Talia ordered Atticus, pulling his gun-hand down. "We need to get out of here. I'm begging you, don't kill anyone!"

The siblings stared at each other intensely for a good few seconds. They drowned out the groaning of the men in pain.

Sighing, Atticus grabbed the pouch of coins Talia left on the table. He pocketed it, stood up, and walked over to Robert. Before Talia could protest, he shot Robert's other knee. This made the old man howl in pain.

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" Talia angrily asked.

"He'll live," Atticus coldly said.

He walked past the five men on the floor to the tax collector shivering near the door. He forced the man to turn around, and this made him cry in fear. The sound of Atticus unsheathing his sword wasn't helping, either. However, Atticus simply cut the ropes that bound the man's wrists together.

"Get out of my sight," ordered Atticus.

The tax collector needed no other motivation to get himself going. He quickly ran out the door to flee from Atticus.

Atticus took one last look at the scared patrons of the tavern, hiding under the tables. He exited after telling them, "Sorry about the mess, but you're welcome for the show."

Talia saw Daisy covering her eyes as she wept. Although there was little damage that Talia herself had done, she felt guilty. She carried herself over to Daisy and knelt in front of her once again.

"Daisy, are you okay?" Talia asked.

"Go away," Daisy said, repeating it multiple times until she saw Talia stand up.

With a saddened expression, Talia left Daisy and the tavern.

* * *

 **Present day**

"Mercury still your hero, blondie?" Talia asked.

Kristoff had a very grim look on his face. Even Olaf was devastated by the story.

"Your brother is... cruel," Elsa said.

"I always knew that he wasn't an angel," Talia revealed, "but I've never seen him do anything so terrible. I've heard stories, but I didn't want to believe them. I'm so stupid."

"You should've known that this is what mercenaries are like," said Anna.

"I should've," Talia admitted. "My life is more complicated than that, I'm afraid."

"But, what did that have to do with you coming to Arendelle?" Elsa asked.

"Well, right after that incident, we got a new job," Talia said. "It was something bigger than I ever thought I'd be a part of. If the Red Wolves succeed, then we'll all be in serious danger."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think. I appreciate reviews of any kind, especially those that theorize and analyze. Reviews help speed up my writing process, so make sure to do it if you're able!

Well, I'm back. I used to call myself "InfiniteAssassin" a few years ago when I was writing Frozen fan-fiction. I wrote the Frozen Phoenix Trilogy which consisted of three fan-fictions: Frozen: Phoenix Fire, Frozen: The Coming Storm, and Frozen: A Sky of Shadows. After failing at writing two other Frozen stories, I retired for a while. I started up again by writing the Hotel Transylvania fan-fiction called Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties. As of right now, I'm still working on finishing up that story, and it has to be my focus because I don't want to let another story I start go unfinished. I wrote this first chapter of Frozen: The Last Paragons just to see how many people are interested in the story and whether I'll work on it full-time after I finish up Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties.

Until I finish up Hotel Transylvania: Blood Ties, I don't expect that I'll upload frequently for this story. I'm getting very lazy with HT: BT too - I'm only posting about once every two weeks. As I pick up the pace for that story, I may only put out a new chapter to this once every three weeks or month. Again, this is only until HT: BT is finished. When it is, I can focus on this story and release weekly chapters if not a chapter every four or five days.

I'm not sure if any of you are still out there, but to those who followed my previous Frozen stories all those years ago, I hope you enjoy my new stories. Furthermore, Frozen: The Last Paragons is not a continuation of the Phoenix Trilogy so you're not going to see my OC, Kai, in this. I guarantee that you'll enjoy my new OC's, however.

Finally, I just want to say it's good to be back.

Ciao.


	2. Sins of the Red Wolves

Previously on Frozen: The Last Paragons

Talia Ashe has been arrested for ruining Kristoff and Anna's wedding (above many things). While in the presence of Elsa, she begins to tell her story. Earlier, she was with her brother, Atticus Ashe, collecting payment for a completed mission. However, things got ugly, and Atticus cruelly injured five men. In the present day, Talia warns Elsa that something dangerous is coming.

* * *

 **2\. Sins of the Red Wolves**

 **Present day**

"So, you can create life?" Talia asked Elsa. She had her eyes fixated on the talking snowman standing besides the Queen.

"Evidently," answered Elsa, nonchalantly.

"Well, that's perfect!" Talia exclaimed. "You can create, like, an army of snowmen warriors to fight off the Red Wolves."

"Is she being sarcastic?" Anna asked. "I can't tell."

"I'm being serious," insisted Talia. "The Wolves are good, but they're no match for the benevolent, beloved, and - might I add - beautiful Snow Queen of Arendelle."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Elsa lectured.

"Regardless... You can make life so much easier for us all. Just create an army, I'll tell you where to send them, the Red Wolves are stopped, the world is saved, and we all stand in the sunshine as heroes to be immortalized."

"Did you take a breath when saying all of that stuff?" Kristoff asked.

"I don't even know what breathing feel like," Olaf chimed.

"You're telling me to go to war," Elsa summarized. Talia shrugged as confirmation. Elsa then began to say, "I'm not going to go to war on the word of an ex-mercenary with a story - which could very-well not even be true - about an ominous doomsday coming from a group of people I didn't even know existed twenty minutes ago. Thanks for the suggestion, but I respectfully decline. Can you understand why?"

Kristoff leaned towards Anna and whispered in her ear, "I know Elsa has a point, but she doesn't have to be such an ice queen about it."

Anna giggled and said, "Nice pun."

"What pun?" Kristoff asked.

"What's a pun?" Olaf inquired. "Why are we all whispering?"

Talia quietly said, "Well, when you put it like _that_..."

"If you're just here for political favors, the answer is no," asserted Elsa. "You sure have a strange way of building up to the request, too."

"No, I'm not here to ..." Talia seemed flustered. She took a deep breath, and continued talking. "Your majesty, please allow me to finish my story. Then, you can decide whether or not I'm worth helping."

Elsa glared at Talia for a quick second. In theory, Elsa was an intimidating figure. She should've frightened Talia with the glare. However, Talia held her chin high. This told Elsa about the prisoner's determination, and such determination was worth humoring.

"Proceed," Elsa said.

* * *

 **Earlier that week**

Talia stomped after Atticus. Both had just left the tavern after Atticus injured five men and crippled one of them. Their offense was not paying Atticus his due for relieving a problem - which would evidently be a temporary relief. Furthermore, he accused them of attempted murder which they technically did commit. This led to him using up all six shots of his revolver. If not for Talia, some of them may have died.

Atticus walked down the street of the village passing many buildings with the lights dimmed or off, occasionally looking up at the bright moon. He noticed his sister behind him, but he refrained from slowing down to walk next to her.

"What the hell was that?" Talia angrily questioned.

"A rip-off," Atticus answered. His eyes widened with a sudden realization. "I forgot to pick up the pouch. Damn."

" _That's_ what you're concerned about?" Talia was almost insulted by Atticus' behavior. "I can't believe you."

"Yeah, you're right. I let the tax collector go. It wouldn't be right for me to take their money."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled on him. He was forced to face her.

"Those guys were poor villagers trying to provide for their kids, and you shot them," she lectured.

"Hey, if they want me to do right by them, then they better do right by me," Atticus argued. "This isn't about some moral high-ground or some charitable act. This is about business, and they failed to keep up with their end of the bargain. Let's not forget that they were trying to kill us."

"Only after you forced their hand."

"You're still trying to defend them?" Atticus scoffed. "Unbelievable. What I did was serve justice. They try to kill us, and you want us to simply forget and walk away? You're a mercenary, Tali. It's a wonder you're still alive."

Talia grunted in frustration as she took her hand off of her brother. She turned the other direction, put her hands on her hips, and looked down at her feet. She was in deep thought on how to get her point across to her brother.

He, apparently, immediately regretted his harsh words. Atticus apologized by saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Listen, you know I'm not good with this emotional crap."

"Obviously," said Talia. "Just go for it."

"Well, you know I care strongly for you."

"There's a shorter word for that. It starts with an 'L.'"

"I just shot five guys, and you're mad at me for it. Do you really want me wasting _that_ word now? I swear, I only have fifty or so uses of it left in my life."

"You're right, I _am_ mad at you. Why am I even talking to you right now?"

It was Talia's turn to push ahead. She walked past Atticus, and he was forced to speed-walk after her, trying to say what he needed to say.

"Let me finish, Talia," he requested. Her silence was a good sign that he could keep talking. "We're mercenaries, Talia. We can't afford to be soft, _especially_ around people who want to kill us. I had to take action back there for both of our sakes. We can't let people swindle us like that."

"Since when did that constitute crippling a man?"

"If you're going to teach someone a lesson, you better make sure they remember it," reasoned Atticus. "Besides, I'm surprised that bothered you so much. You _know_ I've done worse things."

"That's just the thing, Atty," she said, sighing. She stopped and looked back at her brother. "I _don't_ know. Before tonight, I've never seen you be so cruel. Sure, I've heard all the stories, but I never wanted to believe them. I assumed they were highly exaggerated like the feather story. I told myself that the Atticus Ashe in those stories is not the same Atticus Ashe who's my brother that took care of me when I was a kid. Tonight, I saw how wrong I was."

"Is that supposed to hurt me?" Atticus asked. "Were you expecting to guilt me and then magically reform me? No, we were _raised_ to do these jobs, and sometimes these jobs require us to do bad things. Sometimes, we need to do bad things to survive. You've been a Red Wolf for a long time, and you're still appalled by the stuff we do."

* * *

 **Present day**

"He had a point there," Kristoff said. "I assume being a Red Wolf meant that you had to do some shady things."

"Red Wolves pick and choose what jobs they'll do," Talia said. "I only ever picked the ones where I could feel like I was genuinely helping those in need. I stole crates of food for the poor. I removed corrupt politicians from power. I protected a family from harassers. I never assassinated anyone. I never threatened anyone at gunpoint. If I ever did, all I'd ever be is a bully. I redefined being a mercenary for myself."

"But your brother?" Anna asked.

"He's as tough as they get," Talia explained. "We were brought up the same, but we always had differing points of view about our situation. To him, the ends justify the means. He doesn't care what he did so as long as he got paid for it. Call it being soft, call it whatever you want, but _I_ don't believe that. It was too bad that I was the only one."

"That's not being soft," Elsa assured. "That's being good. But, if you had differing ideologies, why didn't you ditch the Red Wolves sooner?"

"It's... complicated."

"As I've said before, you have time."

"Truth be told, I never liked the Red Wolves," admitted Talia. "I never liked hurting people that didn't deserve it. But, I liked the adventure. I liked the happiness I brought some people when I did a good thing for them. As a Red Wolf, I had an excuse to travel around with my brother seeing new places while doing insane things. Do you know that feeling?"

Elsa and Anna sadly looked at each other. Elsa's old life of isolation prevented her from seeing the world. Her position as Queen discouraged her from traveling. Anna always had to try to stick by her sister's side so she was just as uncultured.

"I can't say that I do," Elsa stated.

"Well, it's unlike anything else," revealed Talia. "I liked the concept of my life. 'A warrior-girl who travels the world doing the deeds only the bravest can do.' It sounded like the adventures of some of the heroines in the fairytales I read as a kid. Minus the mercenary part, of course."

"You didn't need to be a mercenary to help people," Kristoff pointed out.

"I know," Talia said. "I just couldn't leave my brother. I was never brave enough to leave him. He's all I have, and I'm all he has now."

"Now?" Anna asked.

"It's... not my place to bring up his old demons," insisted Talia. "Regardless, I knew how into the life he was. I'm sure if it's the gold or the excitement that he likes, but Atticus is the best at what he does, and he's proud of it. I could never convince him to leave his life behind. Since I couldn't leave him, I compromised... for as long as I could. I left him because I made a mistake, and then I made a choice."

* * *

 **Earlier**

"This is our life," Atticus said. "Don't try to change the standard, and don't try to change who I am."

"I have to," she argued. "Have you ever thought about where we're going with this? Don't tell me you're actually planning on doing these jobs for coin until the day you die. I can't die being associated with thieves and murderers."

"As I said, we were raised to do this," reminded Atticus. "It's what we're good at, whether you like it or not."

"We can be better than this, Atty," Talia said. "I know we can be better. If we just find a place where we can apply ourselves, I'm sure-"

"Where we can apply ourselves?" Atticus scoffed. "We're fighters, and fighters can choose to be mercenaries or guards. Guards aren't paid as well, so I choose the former."

"We can't be-"

"No more _we_ , Tali. If you want to give up this life, that's fine with me, but don't make me go with you."

"Really? That's all you have for me? 'If you want to quit, _quit_ and have a nice life?' You'd think my big brother - who's been with me ever since I was born - would put up more of a fight."

"We're not kids anymore. You're your own person, and if you want to quit, then go right ahead. I can't make you do anything, and I can't stop you if this is what you truly want. If you're happy, then I'm happy."

"But?" There was always a but.

"But what do you think you're going to be? A chef? A dentist? I'll tell you that quitting is a good idea when you tell me what you're going to do. Besides, think about who you're abandoning. The Red Wolves took us in when you and I were seven and three. Roth is the closest thing we have to a father. They're as much of a family to us as we are to each other."

"You hate most of them."

"That's besides the point. You really going to throw all of that away? You really going to throw everything you've known away just because of the things _I've_ done?"

Talia stayed silent, and stayed in deep thought. Undoubtedly, there was a lot to think about. No stable person would be able to make Talia's decision in a split second. Atticus was making too many assumptions, admittedly. His actions weren't extreme compared to the average Red Wolf. Most of them were thugs with little honor. Atticus just happened to be a bit better at fighting than all of them. He wasn't the only problem Talia had. It was everyone.

Still, there was little reason for Atticus to stand by the Red Wolves with such passion. As Talia said, he didn't particularly like them himself. He was never one for sentiment, so it shouldn't be too much trouble for him to leave. He would still be hired out if he wasn't a Red Wolf on his own merits alone. Something in Talia clicked. She knew exactly why he was so loyal.

Talia muttered, "This loyalty of yours..." She then spoke up louder, saying, "This doesn't have anything to do with the Red Wolves. This has to do with Lyana."

"Stop," Atticus ordered. His demeanor grew more hostile.

"I know you loved her, but you don't owe her anything."

"You're treading on some thin ice, Tali," Atticus warned.

"She's dead, Atty. You need to mo-"

"I said stop!" Atticus barked.

Talia obliged. She knew that Lyana was a sore subject for Atticus. She just got swept up in the moment. It wasn't fair or kind of her to use Lyana against him.

"Sorry," Talia said. "For now, can you just promise to stop being so... rough with people?"

"Cross my heart," Atticus answered, unenthusiastically.

They heard the rolling of wheels and hoof-steps approaching them from behind. It was the unmistakable sound of a carriage. The siblings looked over their shoulder to find a black stagecoach being pulled by two horses and being driven by one driver.

The presence of a stagecoach in such a small village was unlikely, so it was obvious that the stagecoach was there for an uncommon reason.

The driver - a middle-aged man wearing un-matching layers of clothing and a dagger at his side - halted the carriage next to Atticus and Talia.

"A man and a woman," stated the driver. "The man - roughly six-feet tall - about five inches taller than the woman. Both have black hair and grey eyes. The man armed with a revolver and strange-looking sword. You two must be Atticus and Talia Ashe. Sorry, I mean Mercury and Minerva."

"And who are you?" Talia asked.

The driver pulled down his right sleeve and revealed his bare skin. On his wrist was the same red wolf tattoo that Atticus had on his neck and Talia had on her hand.

"I'm known as Charon, but I'm just a driver," he said. "The men in the stagecoach want to talk to you."

"Being a chauffeur is a little under our pay-grade, don't you think?" Atticus asked the driver.

"Well, he's not being paid," said the voice of a man the siblings were familiar with.

Atticus and Talia looked at the doors of the now-opened stagecoach. Standing there was a tall, older man presumably in his late-fifties. He had short and wavy dirty blonde hair complimented by a trimmed circle beard. His eyes were icy-blue. He wore a brown coat which was unbuttoned to reveal leather armor. The bottom of his brown pants were covered by black boots.

"Roth," Atticus greeted. He didn't seem very ecstatic to see the man who - as Atticus said - practically is the closest thing they have to a father.

* * *

 **Present day**

"Wait, so who's this guy?" Olaf asked.

"His name is Cullen Roth," Talia informed. "He's the founder and leader of the Red Wolves."

"And you mentioned he was like a father to you," Elsa recalled.

"He was a friend of our parents," Talia explained. "I never knew my father. After my mom died, Roth took us in. He fed us, clothed us, trained us, and sent us out to do Red Wolf work. You tell me if that's what fathers are like."

* * *

 **Earlier**

"Codenames," Roth reminded.

"No one's around to care, so let's drop the stupid codenames," said Atticus.

"Oh, Atticus," Roth said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "How I missed your wit."

"It's been a while, _Jupiter_ ," Talia said, obliging to Roth's request.

"That it has," Roth confirmed. "I trust you two have been faring well."

"Business could be better," Atticus said while he and Talia nervously looked at each other. "You've tracked us to a village in the middle of nowhere, so I assume you've got a job for us."

"A big one," said Roth. "We'll talk more in the stagecoach."

Atticus and Talia gave each other one more look before following Roth through the doors of the carriage. They had nothing better to do. Atticus allowed Talia to get inside first.

Roth had already seated himself when Talia stepped inside. However, there was another man sitting to Roth's right.

This man looked like he was in his forties. His blue suit and pants indicated wealth. His brown hair was slicked back and his face was clean shaven. His glasses rested over dark-green eyes. Obviously, he had made an effort to look presentable.

Atticus seated himself next to Talia - both sat across from Roth and the stranger respectively - and closed the door beside him. Roth knocked on the wall of the stagecoach, and this signaled the driver to go.

The stranger held his hand out in front of the siblings.

"Greetings," he said with a vaguely British accent. "My name is Ethan Grimlock."

"Yeah, your name doesn't concern me as much as who you are," Atticus said.

"He's our - for lack of a better word - newest client," explained Roth. "You might even think of him as your temporary employer."

"Red Wolves: you can pay them to do your work but you can't pay them to have some manners," Grimlock said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I just shot my last employer in the knees less than an hour ago," Atticus revealed. "As you can see, I have no respect for authority."

"He really doesn't," said Talia and Roth at the same time.

Grimlock turned over to Talia and examined her. She was made uncomfortable by the gesture. Grimlock then held his hand out in front of Talia.

"You must be Minerva," he said. "Talia Ashe. I didn't realize Red Wolves could be so beautiful."

Reluctantly, Talia took his hand, and he leaned in to kiss it. As a courtesy, Talia giggled. Atticus mimicked vomiting.

"Well, this hasn't happened before," Atticus stated.

"How do you mean?" Roth asked.

" _You_ seeking us out," Atticus explained. "I'm pretty sure you don't just miss us, so I assume you have a job for us. I assume it's a big one."

Roth nodded. "The biggest we've ever been a part of. I've got all hands on deck for this one... eventually, of course."

"I've payed Roth a lot of money to see this thing through," revealed Grimlock.

Atticus glared at Roth. There was something very strange about the situation. Roth never personally took jobs, much less involve the entirety of the Red Wolves. He must have had a personal stake in the job, but Roth wasn't really personally attached to anyone or anything anymore.

"I sought you two out because you're the best of us," Roth said.

"Ah, shucks," Atticus sarcastically muttered. "You mean it?"

"What do you have in mind for us?" Talia asked.

"You will know in due time," promised Grimlock. "First, I must ask you this: Do you believe in myths?"

"No," Atticus answered. He was always the pessimist.

"Yes," Talia said.

"Well, regardless of your opinion," Grimlock said, looking at Atticus, "there is an undeniable existence of trolls. An old rival of mine - name of Jonathan Crick - has inadvertently uncovered an ancient troll temple on an excavation in Sweden. Jupiter, here, has already taken over the dig site with his Wolves, and his men are investigating the temple as we speak."

"The problem is that we've found little of interest," revealed Roth. "The only valuable thing we know from the temple is a dagger. Inside sources from Crick's operations tell us that the dagger has a ruby blade and a golden hilt."

"They also tell us that Crick has long since abandoned the temple with the dagger in hand," continued Grimlock. "It turns out that the dagger was all Crick needed to be happy. I very much would like to get my hands on that dagger."

"So you want us to steal this dagger from Crick?" Talia asked.

"Precisely," Grimlock answered.

Atticus scoffed. "I don't get it. Why go through so much trouble for one shiny dagger? I don't doubt that it's worth a pretty sum, but you seem to already be well-off, Grimlock. What's the story behind this dagger?"

"You said you didn't believe in myths, Mercury," Grimlock pointed out.

"Humor me," said Atticus.

"I've been studying trolls, ancient relics, and magical history all of my life," explained Grimlock. "If these ancient legends are to be believed, then this dagger has been dubbed by trolls as The Key."

"The Key..." Talia muttered. "Key to what, exactly?"

"That is what I want to find out," Grimlock said. "It's said to be the key to a power so awesome, beautiful, yet terrible that it had to be locked away. Of course, the true story behind it has been lost with time, but I'll go with my gut and say that the interpretations I have read aren't far from the truth."

The blood from Talia's face drained. Every instinct in her body told her to kick Grimlock out of the stagecoach immediately. Grimlock didn't seem to be a man who could be trusted with such power, mythical or otherwise.

"In the end, you're interested in this power," Talia summarized.

"Not so much the power as the name recognition of discovering the power," Grimlock said. "I've nothing to my name except that I've inherited an exorbitant amount of wealth from my father. I've done nothing with my money except try to figure out what I can do with it. This is my way of getting my name written down in history. I can see it now. 'Ethan Grimlock: The man who discovered the legendary troll power.'"

"With the help of a bunch of mercenaries," added Talia.

Still in disbelief, Atticus asked Roth, "Don't tell me you actually believe in this stuff. You've asked the Red Wolves to do a job for a man who reads one-too-many fairy tales."

"We're getting paid a great deal of money for this, Mercury," defended Roth.

"So? You're no sell-out, so you must actually believe in this stuff. You're both crazy."

"If you're so adamantly against this, you can always walk away," Roth suggested.

Atticus shook his head, saying, "Hey, I don't mind working for crazy people so long as I get what I'm owed." There was sincerity in his statement. He could care less about Grimlock's motivation for hiring the Red Wolves because he didn't believe in the alleged troll-power. If Grimlock was willing to waste a large sum of money chasing after nothing, then Atticus was okay with it.

Roth's interest in the job was incredibly odd and out of character. Both Atticus and Talia noticed this, and Roth knew that they noticed it. Never before has Roth, much less the Red Wolves as a whole, been involved in matters remotely supernatural.

In an attempt to explain himself, Roth said to the siblings, "We know trolls to be real. We know magical powers to be real. Why can't this legend be real?"

"Might I remind you that the existence of trolls and magical powers all come from the same place?" Atticus said. "For all we know, Arendelle could be nothing but a den of liars."

* * *

 **Present day**

"So, if you two were raised the same, how did you grow to be so different?" Elsa asked.

"Well, we were always different kids," Talia said. "I tried my best to be a normal kid. I read fairy tales, played dress-up, and tried to get into trouble whenever I wasn't training. Whenever Atticus wasn't training, he was either training some more or brooding."

"Is he really _that_ pessimistic towards everything?" Anna asked.

"He's... been through a lot," Talia answered. "I can't blame him. Although, I wish I can see the look on his face if he ever meets you, your majesty. His ego'll take a kick to the nuts."

* * *

 **Earlier**

"You both know what we know," Roth said. "Are you two in or out?"

"I'm in if my sister's in," Atticus said.

Talia turned to her brother and gave him a look of shock. He has never been so dependent on her. Usually, it was her who relied on him. He was many things, but he was also her big brother. He never lost that role, and Talia never wanted him to lose it.

"You wanted to be better," Atticus elaborated. "You tell me if this is being better."

She had to admit that she was intrigued. The ominous power that the dagger would lead to was something worth checking out. However, the biggest apprehension Talia had about it all was the fact that she would be working with the Red Wolves to attain this power. If whatever legend Grimlock read was true, then it was not something to be taken lightly, much less abused.

However, an assignment this grand in scale was not something she could give up simply because she didn't trust people. After all, the Red Wolves weren't antagonistic towards her specifically.

No matter how wrong Talia believed it to be, she couldn't help herself when she said, "I'm in."

"Excellent," Grimlock said, clapping his hands together. "You'll be on your way to Crick before you know it."

"First, I'm parched," Atticus said. "Any refreshments on board this stagecoach?"

Grimlock grabbed a small, metal flask from his waist-belt and handed it to Atticus. Since the mercenary wasn't afraid of germs, he gladly took the flask and opened it. After drinking for a second, he pulled the flask away from his mouth and sprayed the liquid out from his lips towards Grimlock's face.

"This is just water!" Atticus complained.

* * *

 **Present day**

"I said 'yes' to them," said Talia. "That was my mistake. I didn't want my brother or I to be involved with them anymore, but I still accepted their offer to bring us into something bigger than us both."

"You're a very unique individual, I'll give you that," Anna said. "I can't say I've ever met someone so genuinely good seek atonement."

"I'm not looking for atonement," replied Talia. "I'm looking for righteousness."

"Well, you haven't lost my interest in your story," Elsa stated. "I'll let you continue talking. You said you made a mistake and a choice. We know your mistake, but what's this choice?"

"You already know what I chose," Talia admitted. "But I'm about to tell you why exactly I chose it, and why exactly I'm here."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you think. All reviews are appreciated and help me speed up my writing process.

I plan on the next two chapters being the last two chapters told using flashbacks. After that, the rest of the story will be linear. If you're getting turned off by the flashback style of the first few chapters, please bear with me for a little while longer.

Ciao.


	3. Broken Bonds

Previously on Frozen: The Last Paragons

Talia continues recounting her story to Elsa and her family. After discussing Atticus' brutality, Talia and Atticus are found by Cullen Roth (the leader of the Red Wolves) and Ethan Grimlock (an employer). They want the Ashes' help in getting a dagger which is the key to unlocking an ancient troll power. Talia - although reluctant - accepts the job and Atticus follows.

* * *

 **3\. Broken Bonds**

 **Present day**

Talia stared enviously at Anna as the princess took a large bite from her sandwich. The prisoner's mouth watered at the sight of food. She didn't realize how hungry she really was until the servants presented the royal family with food that was un-ironically fit for a queen. She was even jealous of the snowman who tried his best to swallow a sandwich that simply went right through his body.

"Storytelling is hungry work, you know," complained Talia. "You guys have plenty to spare. Would you mind if I have a bite of that enticing, tasty, flavorful, mouth-watering, teasing-"

Talia swallowed the large amount of saliva that built up in her mouth. Kristoff then pulled a carrot out of his pocket and tossed it towards Talia. It rolled right to her feet. She stared at it in disappointment.

"Thanks... Why is it wet?" She asked.

"I'll get you something better after you finish up your story," promised Elsa.

After sighing deeply, Talia continued. "Where was I? Ah, yes. Sources told Roth and Grimlock that our target - Jonathan Crick - was celebrating in a tavern in the middle of nowhere in Sweden," revealed Talia. "The night after we got the mission, we were there."

* * *

 **Earlier that week**

The stagecoach stopped outside of the tavern. It was larger than the one Talia and Atticus previously were at, and the village was larger and wealthier as well. Higher-classed people were expected to be inside. Furthermore, six large, strong men wearing leather stood outside of the tavern side-by-side with their arms crossed. Although they did not block the door, they were eyeing it.

The windows of the tavern glowed from the light inside. The night sky made it necessary for candle-light. Through it, they could see tables of men laughing, drinking, gambling, arm-wrestling, threatening, and doing all of the actions typical of a tavern.

Talia looked away from the window of the stagecoach and faced her colleagues inside of it. Only Atticus, Roth, and herself were present.

"This is our stop," Talia said, preparing to open the door of the stagecoach.

"About that..." Roth started. "I believe it would be a lot more beneficial if you two should enter at different times. That way, if things go south-"

"Which it probably will," assumed Talia.

"Which it most _definitely_ will," corrected Atticus.

"They'll have no way of associating you two," Roth finished. "That way, if one of you is fighting off Crick's men-"

"Why'd you look at me?" Atticus asked.

"Then the other one can focus on stealing the dagger," concluded Roth.

"About that... What if your sources are wrong?" asked Talia. "What if the dagger isn't in there? How much do you trust those guys?"

"I don't trust anyone," Roth reminded. "I _believe_ people, however. If we have the information wrong, then there's not a problem. Crick is inside for sure. Simply ask him where the dagger is."

"Simply." Atticus scoffed. "Well, Tali, you're up."

Talia exited the stagecoach, making sure she looked presentable before she entered the tavern. She approached the door, making sure to not make eye-contact with the six intimidating men standing beside it. They were definitely looking at her. One of them cat-called her which she ignored.

She felt her lasso at her hip. Like how Atticus was skilled with blades, she was skilled with the lasso. It suited her fairly well, and the fact that it was non-lethal made it all the more better for her. She could remember the day she picked up a lasso to train with as a child.

Covering her hands were gloves so that no one would see the Red Wolf mark on her hand.

As she entered, she noticed how similar the tavern was to the one she was at just the other night. It was much, much larger, however. There was a long bar counter with a bartender cleaning glasses. There were tables full of food, drinks, cards, ashtrays, and men.

Half of the men in the full tavern were patrons, and there were about four-dozen men in all. Four men were located on the long platform overlooking the room, above the bar. They all were playing instruments, livening up the building.

The other half were dressed similarly to the six men outside, and Talia instantly knew them to be employed by Jonathan Crick. Only one man in the entire establishment could fit the bill to be Jonathan Crick. It was a man gambling at a table in the center of the dining area. He wore a blue suit, was clean-shaven, had combed brown hair, and sat in a dignified manner. Sitting across from him were two other men - either patrons of the tavern or his employees from the excavation.

Talia made her way to Crick, avoiding the hired-help enjoying themselves as well as the drunk patrons spilling their drinks. She hoped to not bring any attention to herself since she was the only woman in the building.

When she made it to him, she made sure to keep her distance and slowly circled around his table to avoid suspicion. Other than two brutes standing around the table overseeing the game of cards, there weren't many eyes on them.

Hanging from his belt and over the floor was the dagger, just as described. A weapon that was a foot-and-a-half in length, it had a golden handle with markings that Talia assumed to be troll-text and a ruby blade that was jagged. She had never seen anything like it before.

Crick placed his cards on the table and stood up from his chair in victory. He announced, "Another victory is mine. That means another round for everyone!"

The men of the tavern collectively cheered.

"Enjoy tonight, my friends," continued Crick. "You've earned it."

As he sat back down, he caught a glimpse of Talia. She tried her best to avert her gaze, but he saw that she was looking at him. Smiling, he motioned for her to come closer to him. Reluctantly, Talia accepted his offer. She bowed in acknowledgement when she got to his table.

"Well, hello beautiful," greeted Crick.

As she always did when she had to be nice to a man who made her uncomfortable, she giggled.

"You don't look like one of my employees," Crick said. "Such a shame that is."

Talia knelt down next to Crick and put her elbow on the table, careful not to interrupt the game of cards that was being played. This surprised Crick's guards, but they did nothing to retaliate.

"A handsome man like yourself looks a bit lonely, all things considered," Talia said.

"I could use some... feminine companionship." Crick smirked. "The excavation had too few women present."

"Tell me about this excavation," she said. She gave her best googly-eyes.

"A pretty girl like yourself isn't usually interested in digs and ruins," observed Crick.

"I'm not," Talia admitted. "I just like to hear you talk."

Smiling, Crick said, "First and foremost, the name is Jonathan Crick."

"Tara Flowers," Talia lied. Any and all mercenaries worth their asking price is smart enough to never give out their real names on the job.

"Well, Tara," started Crick, "my men and I have come across an ancient troll ruin right here in Sweden."

"Sounds ominous," said Talia.

"My dear, don't be afraid. Trolls are generally gentle creatures."

"You say that as if you've met trolls before."

"No comment. Anyway, my employees and I have discovered this dagger in the ruins." He pulled out the ruby dagger - which Talia knew as The Key - from his waist. She eyed the blade for a second before Crick slipped it back into his belt.

"So, are you going to sell it?" Talia asked.

"I've got all the money in the world, Tara," stated Crick. "I intend to keep it for myself. Furthermore, I've heard an old colleague of mine is desperate for this dagger. What better way to tease and gloat than to hold on to something he wants but can't have?"

Talia was thinking that Crick had no idea what the dagger was purposed for. She had a feeling it was safer in his hands than Grimlock's, but she still had a job to do.

The fact that Crick was revealing all of that information to a woman he had just met proved that Crick was either a fool, too drunk to think rationally, or both.

"Truth be told, I never knew too much about history," said Talia. "Perhaps, you could give me a private lesson."

Stammering, Crick said, "Why that's an idea."

"Are you staying in town?"

"No, I've got an estate a few kilometers out of town."

"Why don't you finish up your game, and let me be out of your hair," she said, rubbing his back. "I'll be outside, waiting for you to take me there."

Crick winked, and Talia stood up. Staying in character, she swayed her hips as she walked away. The force pressed against her leg was uncomfortable. After all, she had slipped the dagger into her thigh-high boot.

While Crick was talking - after he revealed to her the dagger - she pulled it out of his waist and slipped it into her boot. She was crouched during the conversation to make herself and her actions look less conspicuous. It was also done under the table, so that was a contributing factor.

Talia was never as strong or fast as her brother in combat, but she was rather nimble. She could always beat him out at slight-of-hand, and she was reputable among the Red Wolves for that very reason. Of course, her gender contributed to her skill. No one expected a pretty woman like herself to steal in plain sight.

Before she was out of the tavern, Atticus entered. She was just on her way out, so they stood face-to-face. No one was directly around them to listen in to their conversation.

"Turns out I didn't need you," Talia whispered. "I got the dagger."

"You sure?" Atticus asked.

Talia looked back and saw that no one in the tavern was looking. She bent down and pulled the dagger from her boot, giving it to Atticus to analyze it.

"Looks about right," confirmed Atticus. He then slipped the dagger into his coat. "Good work."

"Let's get out of here," said Talia.

Atticus nodded. "You go on ahead. Roth gave me a little errand to run in here."

"Seriously? What is it?"

"Don't worry about it, Tali. Just get out of here. It won't take two seconds."

He then walked past her. She turned to watch him enter the crowd of tables with a confused look on her face. There didn't seem to be anything of interest for Roth. With the dagger in hand, the job was practically over.

Talia wanted to step outside, but she realized that Atticus was in possession of the dagger. She had to make sure it was secure with him, so she observed him. When Atticus stopped walking, he stood behind Crick with his arms crossed. He saw Talia looking at him and motioned for her to leave. Talia, of course, did the opposite. In fact, she started a slow approach to Atticus to ask him what he was doing.

One of the two henchmen standing near Crick saw Atticus standing behind their boss and said, "State your business."

"Just learning some new strategies in cards," answered Atticus.

The henchman shrugged and let Atticus stand where he was. Atticus saw that Talia was only about ten feet away from the table. Her movement was slowed by her being forced to squeeze through the other seats, tables, and men of the tavern.

Focusing on Crick's back, Atticus pulled the dagger from out of his coat. Talia - knowing what Atticus was about to do - lunged after her brother and grabbed his forearm as he jabbed his arm towards Crick's back. With all of her strength, she was keeping his arm at bay. The tip of the dagger was mere inches away from Crick's back. The victim had yet to notice anything wrong, and neither did the guards.

"Why?!" She angrily whispered.

"Roth's orders," answered Atticus. "No loose ends."

"You know I can't let you do this," Talia said.

"You brought us into this," Atticus said. "I'm just doing my part."

"We have what we came here for."

" _You_ have what _you_ came here for. I've still got work to do."

"He doesn't deserve this."

"I don't give the order," reminded Atticus. "I'm just the executioner."

"That's the goddamn problem," Talia angrily said. She used her other hand to grab the dagger from Atticus, and she let go of his arm since he no longer was pressuring it to stab Crick. Unfortunately, she said it rather loudly. Loudly enough for Crick to notice.

"Back already, Tara?" Crick asked, turning around. His eyes caught Talia holding the dagger.

"What the hell..." he muttered.

He looked up at Atticus besides Talia. He zeroed-in on the visible tattoo on Atticus' neck and said, "The Mark of the Red Wolves. You're Red Wolves!" He then stood up, throwing his cards on the table. The two henchmen stood in front of Crick, protecting him. They slowly had Crick back away from the Ashe siblings.

"Come to steal the dagger, huh?" Crick continued. "I won't let you. Men! Take care of these two mercenaries."

Atticus drew his sword as the henchmen in the room stood up from their tables and moved them over. Glasses shattered on the ground. They were making room for a fighting area in the tavern. Indoor fighting was always messy, of course. It would've been a shame for there to be broken furniture.

Talia assessed the situation. Any and all non-employees of Crick scurried off and away, out of the building. That left two-dozen men of varying builds and equipment standing around the brother and sister duo.

"This could've been a whole lot simpler," Atticus pointed out. He spun his sword to intimidate the foes around him.

Talia pulled her lasso from her waist and began to spin a hoop besides her.

"I can't believe you," Talia chastised.

"I'd really rather focus on not dying at the moment. We can discuss morals later. Sound good?"

Talia didn't answer.

"What are you waiting for?" Crick asked.

Atticus and Talia stood back-to-back. One of the henchmen personally guarding Crick left his side and charged towards Atticus. The mercenary prepared his sword, but Talia saw that Atticus was ready to kill. To prevent this from happening, she threw the ruby dagger at the enemy's foot, stabbing through it and sticking to the floor. Atticus - seeing that the man had been incapacitated - let his sword down.

The henchman yelled in pain. Crick, clearly fearing his own safety, fled the tavern with his other personal guard.

"Get the hell back here!" Atticus exclaimed, chasing after Crick. As he passed the henchman Talia stopped, he swooped down, grabbed the dagger, and pulled it out of the foot. The man immediately fell over, holding onto his bleeding foot.

Talia didn't get the chance to chase after her brother. She felt a rough grip on her shoulder from behind. The next thing she knew, she was rolling on the ground. When she jumped back up, she saw the countless men closing in on her. None of them had firearms, but a good many of them had clubs, knives, and brass knuckles.

"I really don't have time for this, guys," said Talia.

While she lunged at her enemies with her lasso in hand, Atticus slammed out of the tavern. He was immediately greeted with a dozen men - Crick included and standing in the middle - creating a semicircle twenty feet away around the entrance to the tavern. Every other man in the semicircle had a rifle in their hands, pointing it right at Atticus.

"Drop the sword," Crick ordered.

"I'm inclined to say 'No,'" replied Atticus.

Raindrops started to drip onto the men in the street. There were no civilians to witness the encounter.

"You're in no position to do anything but whatever I say," reminded Crick.

Atticus summarized, "So my options are drop the sword and get killed or keep the sword and get killed? If it's all the same to you, I'll keep my sword."

Crick thought about it for a second and came back with, "Fair enough."

"Red Wolves have taken over my excavation," Crick stated. "I should've known they'd be after my pull from it. The only person I know who'd care enough for the remains of rock-people is Grimlock. He hired you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," answered Atticus. He held the dagger in his hand and spun the top of the handle on his finger. "This dagger is more than just a pretty artifact. It's the key to unlocking some ancient power or whatever ridiculous garbage that goes with the story. Where you see a shiny toy, Grimlock sees the key to his legacy."

"Good to know," Crick said. "I appreciate it, but I'm not sure why you'd spill all of your guts like that."

"Because I know you won't live long enough to do anything with that information," Atticus remarked. "None of you will."

"Oh, the _balls_ on this one," Crick said, chuckling and applauding. "Clearly, the Red Wolves didn't send their brightest."

"No, they did," confirmed Atticus. "I also happen to be their best."

"If you're what constitutes 'best,' I'd hate to see the worst." Crick's comment got all of his henchmen to laugh. Atticus ignored their mocking.

"Before you die, I'd like to know the name of the man who claimed himself to be the best of the Red Wolves," requested Crick.

"Mercury," answered Atticus.

At that point, the sky began to pour. Everyone was getting soaked, and the henchmen were clearly uncomfortable. Atticus didn't seem to care.

The smile on Crick's face disappeared. He grew paler. After inspecting Atticus for a good second, he cleared his throat and said, "No matter. After all of your exploits, your story ends here. I must say, I'm a bit underwhelmed."

"But you've heard the stories?" Atticus asked.

"Surely exaggerated," Crick insisted. "Besides, I've seen better. They say your leader - Jupiter - can curve bullets. What can you do?"

"Well, I can't curve bullets," revealed Atticus, "but I taught myself a good trick or two."

In a split-second, Atticus pulled his revolver out from its holster. He swung the gun horizontally in front of him, keeping his finger inside the trigger guard. He rolled the trigger guard around his finger, hitting the trigger at certain points and making the revolver spin around. The gun was on its side, and the only thing Atticus had contact with was the trigger guard around the trigger.

Six shots were made. At the end of the swing, the six men who held rifles dropped their weapons onto the ground. Atticus had destroyed each rifle with bullets.

Flustered and angry, Crick yelled at his men. "Bring me his head!"

The eleven men around Crick unsheathed their weapons: swords, daggers, axes, and clubs. One of the men with a sword charged at Atticus.

In a swift motion, Atticus holstered his revolver knowing it was out of bullets. He readied his sword with one hand and pointed the tip towards the man charging.

"The infamous one-at-a-time strategy," Atticus muttered. "It never fails to fail."

With both hands, the henchman swung his sword downward at Atticus. The mercenary simply swung his sword at the incoming blade, knocking it out of the user's hand. With his sword facing downward, Atticus swung his sword up, cutting the torso of the henchman. This caused the man to scream in pain and fall backward.

Two other goons did not hesitate to charge in. Both of them had clubs. Atticus charged towards them in turn. The henchmen prepared to swing horizontally, and as they swung at Atticus, he dropped to the ground and slid under and between the clubs and the men respectively. When he was past them, he got back onto his feet and sliced the backs of both men with one swing.

Three of the eleven men were down. Three other men - one with a sword, one with a dagger, and one with an axe - surrounded Atticus. The men with the sword and axe swung at the same time, but Atticus skidded back towards the man with the dagger. He swiftly grabbed the dagger-man by the shoulders and pushed him in the way of the sword and axe. Blood splattered on their faces.

Atticus swung his sword down onto the axe-fighter, but the latter blocked the attack. As Atticus made the strike, he swung one leg towards the sword-wielder, sending him away and almost tripping. As the blade of the sword and axe where touching, Atticus slid his weapon down so that the blade of the sword got caught under the curve of the axe. He then pulled upward, forcing the man to let go of his axe which flew upward into the air.

As it was up in the air, Atticus pressed the edge of his sword against the belly of his enemy and made a deep, long cut across it. He then head-butted the man in the bridge of the nose to force him to fall back. Atticus then caught the axe as it fell down from the air and threw it at the swordsman, lodging itself into his shoulder.

Five men were left and they all ran towards Atticus with weapons drawn.

Atticus snapped his wrist with his sword in his hand. This motion cause the blade of the sword to break on the lines etched into the blade. The separated parts of the blade were held together by a thick wire in the center. His sword had transformed into a whip-sword. It had the reach of a whip and the cutting-power of a sword.

Crick watched in horror as Atticus swung the whip around himself, hitting each and every person who approached him. One by one, they fell without having laid a finger on the mercenary. It was a dangerous weapon to use. One misplay and the user could seriously injure themselves. However, Atticus was very smooth with the weapon. He knew where to place every part of his body.

When all the men were defeated, Atticus snapped his wrist again, and the weapon reverted back to its classical sword-form.

"I'd say I taught myself a few good tricks," said Atticus, glaring at Crick.

"No, please!" Crick yelled as he ran away down the street. He almost fell over when he slipped on the wet ground.

Atticus pulled a bullet from out of his pocket and tossed it into the air. He opened the chamber of his revolver and swung his pistol at the mid-air bullet. It slipped right into the chamber, and Atticus closed it. Although his target - the back of Crick's neck - was getting smaller and smaller, he still pulled the trigger despite hearing Talia exclaim, "No!"

* * *

 **Present day**

"He did his job," Talia explained. "He assassinated Crick, not to mention what he did to Crick's men. I caught glimpses of his fight through the window during my own. When I was done, I ran outside to stop him. I was too late."

"How do you redeem someone like that?" Elsa asked.

"You don't," Talia answered. "I'm not looking for his redemption. He stopped being my brother the moment he pulled the trigger. Now, I'm just looking out for the good of us all"

"Killer or not, he's still your brother," Anna said. "You shouldn't shut him off like that."

"Anna," Elsa stated, "I've shut people off for much less."

* * *

 **Earlier**

Talia tackled Atticus after Crick fell dead onto the ground. She had her knee on his chest and her fist ready to punch him.

"He did nothing wrong, and you know it!" Talia lectured. "I don't give a damn what Roth ordered. You don't have a mind of your own anymore, do you?"

"I did what I had to," said Atticus.

"That's a load of bull," argued Talia. "You started it, and you sure-as-hell finished it."

She got off of him and turned away, allowing him to stand up.

"You don't know what's right from wrong anymore," Talia observed.

"What's right is honoring the orders of the man who took us in - kids who had nothing but a dead mother - and raised us."

"If this is how you think we should pay him back, then we shouldn't owe him a damn thing!" She turned back to glare at her brother. "You don't give a damn about Roth, do you? This is about Lyana."

"Of course this is about Lyana."

* * *

 **Present day**

"That name again..." Elsa said. "Lyana."

"She is... _was_ Roth's daughter," Talia revealed. "Adopted. Atticus and I grew up with her. Lyana and Atticus were together for a short while before she died."

"How'd she die?" Anna asked.

"It doesn't matter," insisted Talia. "You just need to know that he blames himself."

* * *

 **Earlier**

"If Roth loved her half as much as I loved her, then he'd be destroying himself on the inside," said Atticus. "It was my fault she died. Mine! I owe him everything for what I've done. It's my penance."

"She wouldn't have wanted this," Talia argued. "She'd want you to be a person with a soul, not a hired sword who can't make his own decisions."

"The hell would you know what she would've wanted?" Atticus asked.

"I know that she wouldn't have wanted you to lose your way," Talia said. "You're not the same person you were when she was alive. You've become... brutal. Cruel."

"Welcome to the real world, Tali," Atticus said, holding his arms out and presenting the fallen bodies. "A world where bad people do bad things. We're mercenaries, and that makes us as bad people."

"Not me," stated Talia. "Not anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm done. I'm done with all of this. I'm done with this job. I'm done with the Red Wolves. I'm done with _you_."

" _You_ brought us into this job."

"Now, I'm taking myself out of it. If you want to save whatever we have that we call a relationship, you'd quit too."

"I'm seeing this through," affirmed Atticus.

"So, you're going to continue being Roth and Grimlock's attack-dog?" she asked.

"Don't try to act like you're better than me," ordered Atticus. "You're just a selfish little girl who can't handle at the sight of blood. A girl who tries to change the way the world works just because she doesn't like the way it is."

Talia took out her lasso and snapped it like a whip at Atticus. In a quick swipe, Atticus slashed the lasso with his sword and cut it. Talia dropped the lasso in frustration.

"I won't bother myself with your misplaced sense of morality," Atticus said.

"It's not just you, Atticus! Whatever Roth and Grimlock are looking for: they can't have it. If the stories are true, people are going to be in trouble."

"It's a fairy tale, Tali!"

"How many men has Roth made you murder in the sake of a fairy tale? The dagger is real. That's proof enough for me. For once, assume that it's all real, Atty. Think about what Roth and Grimlock could do with whatever they're looking for. Think about the people in danger. Could you really live with yourself knowing that you had a hand in it?"

"It can't be anything worse than what I've already done. They're not your concern anymore. If you're leaving, then you're leaving alone."

Talia was shocked by her brother's ignorance. She grew up believing that he would always do right by her. If only she could see that she was wrong long ago.

"Then there's nothing left for us to say," said Talia.

"None."

"You're not even going to try to stop me?"

"We both know that there's nothing I can do. You learned your stubbornness from me, remember? Now, if you intend to make good on your promise, go. Whatever you do after, just don't try and stop them. It won't end well for you."

"Is that a threat?"

"A _warning_."

Taking a deep breath, Talia turned and walked away. She avoided stepping on the bodies on the ground. Looking back at Atticus, she saw him standing in the rain, watching her.

She called back one last time, saying, "You were my hero once, you know?"

With that, she ran off, trying not to slip on the wet ground. When she looked back the next time, Atticus had disappeared from her line of sight. She knew that he wouldn't bother following her.

From her boot, she pulled the ruby dagger - The Key - out. Although Atticus had it in his coat, she slipped it from him when she tackled him. When she was kneeling over his chest, she slid it into her boot. Atticus had no idea it was gone. He would report to Roth that he obtained the dagger only to have nothing to show for it.

"I need to find somewhere to keep this safe," Talia said to herself. " _Trolls_. I need to find trolls... Where can I find trolls?"

* * *

 **Present day**

"I'm assuming we know what happened after that," said Elsa.

"Correct," confirmed Talia.

"And where is this dagger which is the root of your problems?" Kristoff asked.

"Unshackle me, and I'll show you," Talia promised.

Elsa stood up from her throne and walked down the steps of her platform. Talia smiled as the queen approached her. Elsa stood in front of Talia - they both were about the same height - and placed her left hand on Talia's cuffs. Instead of breaking Talia free, she ran her right hand down Talia's left leg.

This motion made Talia blush. Elsa's hand went into Talia's thigh-high boot and pulled something out of it. As Talia had described, there was a ruby dagger with a golden handle. Elsa was holding The Key.

"I'm going to assume that this is the real deal," Elsa quietly said in awe of the dagger. "I'm going to assume that you were telling the truth this whole time."

"It is, and I am," said Talia.

Elsa froze Talia's shackles, making Talia shake her hands from the cold. When Elsa shook the shackles, they shattered and fell to the ground. The guards behind Talia expected her to make an attack, but Talia did no such thing.

"Thank you," Talia said.

"If that is the real deal," Kristoff said, "we need to get this thing to the trolls right away."

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

"This is all your fault," Roth berated.

"Calm down, old man," Atticus said.

"I certainly will not. You let her slip the dagger away from right under your nose! I've sent men after her who have been arrested by Arendelle guards. Surely, she's spilling all of our secrets and plans as we speak. Pray tell, Atticus: why should I be calm?"

"I can fix this."

"Oh, what will you do?"

"I'll figure it out."

"Atticus, you give me an everlasting sense of confidence," Roth sarcastically muttered.

"I could tell her the truth."

"What truth?"

"You know what I'm talking about: our mother's secret. My father's secret. Now, _my_ secret."

"Secret... Wait, you _know_?"

"It wasn't too hard to figure out. One just needs to think for a second and do a little digging. I didn't say anything about it to anyone because it changes nothing. Of course, that was before."

"And now?"

"Now, one of two things are going to happen. One, she'll give it all up. Or two, she'll want to see us lose our heads."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you think. All reviews are welcome and help speed up my writing process.


	4. The Royal Wedding

Previously on Frozen: The Last Paragons

Talia continues to explain her story to Elsa and the others. Talia and Atticus agreed to partake in a job for Grimlock and the Red Wolves where they must steal a dagger dubbed the Key. However, Atticus kills many people during the mission, causing Talia to abandon Atticus and the Red Wolves with the Key in hand. Elsa, feeling sympathy for Talia, agreed to let her go and help her on her mission to figure out what to do with the Key.

 **4\. The Royal Wedding**

* * *

 **Present day**

"Sorry again for - you know - getting you covered in chocolate and… the other stuff."

Talia couldn't count how many times she apologized to Kristoff regarding her abrupt entrance into the royal wedding at Arendelle. Kristoff would always reply with, "Don't worry about it." Unfortunately for Talia, he wasn't telling her the full truth about how he felt about the event. He was still quite sore, and although he suspected that Talia knew it, he wanted to do his best to put it out of her mind.

Kristoff led the trio that consisted of himself, Elsa, and Talia through the forest trail. Talia was right behind him, and Elsa was at her heels. She insisted that Talia stay in front of her just in case Talia pulled something shady. For this reason, they had Talia give the dagger to Kristoff.

Despite the warm weather of July, Kristoff wore his mountain-man garb as it was always handy on treks. Elsa changed from the regal, decorative outfit she wore earlier to a simple yet elegant set of clothes made up of a blue blouse, blue pants, and a green skirt. Talia didn't pack anything so she was stuck with the clothes she already had.

It was midday when they left, and they planned to return come nightfall. Their journey from the Arendelle castle to the troll village started off quite silent. Not only was it silent, but it was an awkward silence. Eventually, Talia took it upon herself to initiate the conversation.

"When is the wedding?" Talia asked Kristoff.

"Earlier today," Elsa answered.

"You know what I mean."

"Well," said Elsa, sighing, "given that all we have to do is repair the ruined decorations in the city and castle, get a new dress and suit for Anna and Kristoff, and re-cater most of our food, I'll say we can redo the wedding in a few days."

"You seem like a really nice girl, Talia, but you're not invited," Kristoff muttered, loud enough for Talia to hear.

"I don't blame you," she replied. "But, what about the Red Wolves?"

"What about them?" Elsa asked.

"They'll burn the kingdom to the ground if it means getting them this dagger. You should be as worried about them as I am."

"Look, we'd like to help you out with them," Kristoff explained. "We really would. But, if they're as dangerous as you say they are, then we need to keep them on the opposite end of the earth."

"Just think for a second about how big this is," pleaded Talia. "You'll eventually be a part of all of this whether you like it or not."

"You don't know that," said Elsa.

"I _do_ know that. As long as that dagger is in Arendelle," she pointed to the ruby dagger Kristoff had hanging from his belt, "the Red Wolves will hurt your people to get to it."

"All the more reason to send you and the knife on your merry way after this is over with," Kristoff stated.

"You can't just do nothing!"

"We're _not_ doing nothing," Elsa argued. "We're taking you to the trolls, just like you wanted. I can give you safe passage out of Arendelle when you leave, but after this, you're on your own."

Talia prepared to argue back, but she closed her lips before she said something she might have regretted. There was little she could do to change the minds of Elsa and Kristoff. She understood where they were coming from. Why should they risk their safety for a complete stranger who had done more harm than good to them? Talia resolved to continue her course alone, no matter how hard it would be.

They haven't walked for any more than half an hour at that point, but to Talia, it was an eternity. The path looked the same. The surrounding forest seemed endless and never-changing. She could've sworn that she saw the same tree every hundred steps or so.

Kristoff looked back and saw Talia's boredom. Although it wasn't his responsibility to relieve her of it, he thought that the least he could do was get her talking so she could get her mind off of the length of the journey.

"So, we arrested two others when we arrested you," Kristoff reminded. "I take it they're Red Wolves?"

"Yeah," confirmed Talia. "It's their fault things got so messy."

"Oh, really?" Elsa asked, smirking. "If I recall correctly..."

* * *

 **Earlier**

Kristoff and Anna stood on top of the steps of the courtyard that led into Arendelle Castle. They held their hands together in front of an older, grey-haired priest who was officiating the wedding. Elsa stood besides Anna dressed in her best, most decorative garb. Anna was, of course, in a wedding dress, and Kristoff was wearing a black suit.

The entire courtyard was crowded. Citizens and nobles from other countries squeezed together to witness the momentous occasion. Of course, the people left open a path for the couple which led to the fountain - which they did not crowd around - which led to the bridge that led to the rest of the city where festivities were prepared.

Sven and Olaf were waiting around the fountain. Olaf sat on Sven's back, holding the pillow with the rings.

The priest said, "Do you, Kristoff, take Anna to be your wife, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," promised Kristoff, gently smiling. Anna felt herself blush.

The priest continued by saying, "Do you, Anna, take Kristoff to be your husband, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him..."

The priest looked away from Anna, squinting past the fountain and the crowd to find something very odd.

Talia was fighting atop a large wagon being pulled by two horses. The wagon was traveling down the bridge towards the castle at a breakneck speed. She faced two strange looking men in traditional Red Wolf gear which was - simply put - leather armor with straps and pouches everywhere. One was short, pudgy, and hairless. The other was taller, scrawnier with a thin face, an uneven mustache, and slicked-back, oily brown hair. Both were ugly.

As the wagon entered the courtyard, bystanders rushed away from the path they themselves made, making the path bigger. Talia saw that the horses and the wagon were going to inevitably crash into the fountain.

She jumped off of the wagon, rolling on the ground, and jumped to her feet. She turned her heel to witness the horses perform a ninety-degree turn before they collided with the fountain. However, the wagon wasn't so lucky. It couldn't follow the horses in the turn, crashing into the fountain. Barrels that the wagon was carrying flew into the air as the wagon shattered.

A barrel flew over Sven and Olaf towards Kristoff, Anna, and the priest. It landed at their feet, cracking open and splattering the three with its contents: liquid chocolate.

* * *

 **Present day**

"Okay, Red Wolves were going to kill me," Talia explained. "I did what I had to do save myself, and it unfortunately got a little bit messy."

"My guards told me that you only got on the wagon to escape from them," Elsa revealed.

"Hey, they were going to arrest me! I wasn't going to be thrown in jail like some criminal."

"But you _are_ a criminal," reminded Kristoff.

"That's besides the point," argued Talia. "If I had let them arrest me then and there, I never would've gotten an audience with you. Let me tell you the whole story."

* * *

 **Earlier**

Talia looked both ways from the walkway connecting the large ship that transported her and the docks of Arendelle. There didn't seem to be many people on the docks, so she felt comfortable stepping onto it. The docks eventually led to a stone staircase leading into the rest of Arendelle. Talia found herself standing at the edge of a large plaza full of people.

She took notice of the banners placed on every light post. The banners had a checkered green and purple pattern with two golden silhouettes of a man and woman facing each other, holding hands. More decorations ranging from ribbons and elaborate knots were placed throughout the town.

The smell of good food filled the air. The sounds of business, bustling, and chatter was hard to drown out. It wasn't really anything that impressed Talia, however. Her occupation allowed her to travel to countless far-off places where celebrations proved to be much wilder. However, there was a serene and peaceful beauty that Arendelle had which made it stand out.

Talia took a long look at the grand castle of Arendelle which sat at the other end of the bridge connected to the plaza. Citizens and noblemen alike walked across the bridge and through the gates of the castle.

"What's the occasion," Talia muttered to herself. An older, plump woman walked in front of her with a box full of goods. Talia called after her, saying, "Excuse me."

The woman turned and greeted Talia with a smile.

"Well, I haven't seen your pretty face before," the woman said. "You must be new to Arendelle."

"Just got off of a ship," Talia confirmed. "What's with all of the decorations? Is there a special occasion or is Arendelle always so festive?"

"Are you not here for the wedding?"

Talia shook her head. "What wedding?"

"How could you not have heard of it? Princess Anna is marrying her beloved Kristoff today at the castle."

"Oh."

With that, the woman was on her way, leaving Talia to her own devices.

She silently cursed, reckoning that people would be too preoccupied with the wedding to help her find the trolls. It appeared as if she had picked the wrong day to come to Arendelle.

Those thoughts quickly left her mind when she felt the barrel of a pistol press against the small of her back.

"Look what we caught 'ere, Pollux," said the deep, rough voice of a man in a cockney British accent. "A lil' fishy outta water."

"She ain't a fish, Castor," replied Pollux. His voice was higher and almost squeaky. "She's got arms and legs. Lil' fishies don't got arms and legs."

"It's a metaphor and a phrase, you fool!" Castor barked at Pollux.

"No, it's a person," said Pollux. "Don't you recognize 'er? This 'ere is Minerva."

"Yes, I know it's Minerva!"

"Then why'd you call 'er a fish?"

Talia groaned. "Not _these_ two idiots."

* * *

 **Present day**

"Castor is the short guy the guards arrested," Talia explained, "and Pollux is the other guy."

"Castor is the smarter of the two?" Elsa asked.

"No, Castor is the shorter of the two," asserted Talia.

* * *

 **Earlier**

She was fully aware of who Castor and Pollux were. They were infamous among the Red Wolves, and not infamous in the flattering way or the horrifying way.

"Listen," she started, "you two forget you saw me, and I'll forget I saw you."

Talia prepared to turn around to face the fools, but Castor said, "No, no, no, you stay just as you are."

She sighed and stood still, rolling her eyes.

"Don't make this difficult, Minerva," Pollux requested. "Just 'and over the dagger, and we promise we'll 'urt you."

Castor smacked Pollux on the back of the head, saying, "You're supposed to tell 'er 'we won't hurt 'er,' idiot!"

"But that's a lie," Pollux muttered.

Castor smacked his comrade again. "Don't listen to 'im, Minerva. Just give me The Key."

"No," she refused.

For a second, there was silence. Then, she heard Pollux say, "She said 'no.' What do we do?"

"The 'ell do you mean 'what do we do?'" Castor was very irritated, and his frustration amused Talia. His incompetency was what gave her a smile. He said, "We just ask 'er again."

"Okay," said Pollux. "Can we 'ave the Key?"

Refusing again, Talia said, "No."

"She said no again," Pollux said to Castor.

"Oh, _did_ she?" Castor groaned.

"Why yes, she did," confirmed a confused Pollux. "Did you not 'ear?"

"Course I 'eard, you fool! It's called _sarcasm_! We're not being convincing enough. We should-"

"Ah," interrupted Pollux, "I see what you mean. Minerva, can we _please 'ave_ the Key." He then turned to Castor. "I said the magic word. She's sure to give it to us now."

"I don't know," replied Talia. " _Can_ you?"

"Pollux, you idiot!" Castor's face was red with anger. "You're not doing it right! You never do it right! This is why _I_ do the talking."

"But you have the gun."

"So?"

"Well, I mean, it doesn't make sense for you to do the talking and 'ave the gun."

"Why not?"

"It's not fair for me. What do _I_ do?"

"We can discuss this later! Anyway, Pollux, let me show you 'ow a professional does things." Castor cleared his throat while Talia waited in anticipation. "Minerva, _may_ we 'ave the Key?"

"Oh, I see what you did there," Pollux chuckled. "Me mum always lectured me on using _may_ instead of _can_."

"No," Talia refused.

"Oh, I think you forgot to say please," Pollux observed.

"Shut up, Pollux!"

"I would if only you'd give me the gun!"

"If I gave you the gun right now, would you please just zip your lips and let me do the talking?"

Talia assumed that they did a quiet exchange and waited patiently for them to continue threatening her. She counted so many ways for her to escape her current predicament, but something encouraged her to stay to see how things played out. Castor and Pollux were both too amusing.

"Alright, turn around Minerva," ordered Castor.

Sighing with annoyance, Talia obliged.

"'ello," Pollux greeted.

"Did you really think you could get away with this?" Castor asked.

"I was hoping," she admitted.

"Ain't that a fantasy. Roth and Grimlock have Wolves searching high and low across countries and kingdoms looking for you. We ain't the only ones in Arendelle. Should you try anything funny, we'll make you regret it, and if not us, then our friends out there will."

"Castor," started Pollux, "don't you think we shouldn't be revealing our secrets to the lady? I mean, now that she knows, she'll be prepared for them, don't you think?"

"Forget I said anything," Castor ordered Talia.

"Said what?" Talia asked.

"Castor, you must have superpowers or something," complimented Pollux.

"Listen, boys," Talia said. "I'll make you a deal. Give me that gun, and I'll give you the Key. Then, we just go our merry ways."

"Deal." Pollux smiled as he handed Talia his pistol.

She graciously took the pistol away from him and bowed. Castor watched the exchange in awe.

"Now, Miss," Pollux said. "The Key?"

"No," Talia refused.

"She said no," Pollux told Castor. "What do we do?"

Castor clenched his fist and his teeth. Then, he spoke. "Minerva, I would appreciate it if you were to return the weapon."

"No," Talia said.

"She said no," Pollux whispered. "What do we do?"

Talia turned on her toes to flee the pair of Wolves, but she bumped into the chest of a man standing behind her. He was a buff man, easily a few inches over six feet tall, with dark skin, and no hair other than the beard and mustache he had trimmed short. His most distinctive feature were his eyes. His left eye was brown but his right eye was milky white with a scar running down over it.

"Keeping an eye out for me, weren't you, Vulcan?" Talia quipped.

"Don't tell me your brother's wit rubbed off on ya," Vulcan said. His voice was deep and commanding. "Never thought it would come to this, Minerva. I always liked you better than your brother. Because I like you, I'm giving you the easy way out. Give me the dagger, and I'll let you go and enjoy the wedding."

"Funny story: I sold the dagger for passage here. Looks like you're out of luck."

"I can see the shape of the dagger in your boot."

Vulcan was looking down at her feet, and Talia looked down as well. The Key wasn't as inconspicuous as she hoped it was.

"Well, that's embarrassing," she said. With Vulcan's head down, she uppercutted him, but all she managed to do was change the position of his head for a second. If anything, she hurt her own hand more than she hurt him. Vulcan was a very tough opponent indeed.

She ran away from the three Wolves, but Vulcan and Castor quickly followed.

"Oi! Where ya going, friends?" Pollux asked. "Maybe I should follow them."

He then broke off in a jog after the three.

From the plaza, Talia turned into a street, running against the crowds who were making their way to the castle. She was careful not to bump into anyone, although she almost tripped because of the complicated footing that was required to accomplish such a task. The street was rather narrow with homes and business on both sides. Needless to say, it was bustling with people.

She didn't want to engage in battle with the three Wolves. Castor and Pollux she could take down with her eyes closed, but Vulcan was another story. His physique made it impossible to harm him with the non-lethal methods Talia used when fighting, and he could easily overpower Talia. She reckoned that he made a match for even Atticus.

As Vulcan chased her, he made no effort to avoid any civilians. He regularly knocked people down, and thus they were gaining on Talia. It didn't take long for him to tackle Talia. In the process of chasing, he lost Castor and Pollux.

They both grunted as they hit the ground. She was quick to roll to the side, but as she got up, Vulcan pulled at her ankle, making her boot slip off as well as causing the dagger to clank onto the ground many feet away from them.

Talia quickly took her lasso and whipped it at the dagger. The rope wrapped around the blade. Talia yanked the dagger away and caught it as it flew towards her.

Vulcan was trying to get up onto his feet, but Talia kicked him square in the face with her bare foot. He let go of her boot as a result, and she reached her leg out for her boot, grabbed it with her toes, and pulled it back towards her

"Halt!" Talia heard.

Before she knew it, she and Vulcan were surrounded by six Arendelle guards armed with spears and swords.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"This man was attacking me and chasing me through the town," Talia answered as she put her boot back on, slipping the dagger inside. "I was just defending myself."

"If what she says is true, then we're going to have to arrest you, sir," one of the guards said.

"She stole something of mine," Vulcan lied. "I'm only trying to get it back."

"Is that true, ma'am?" another guard asked.

"No," answered Talia.

"Lies," Vulcan said. "She stole a dagger of mine. It's very precious. You saw her slip it into her boot."

"The dagger is mine. It's a family heirloom, and he's just trying to mug me for it!"

"Great, some good 'ol 'him-not-me-her-not-me' bull-crap," moaned a guard. "Listen, we're going to have to take you both in for questioning so we can get to the bottom of this."

"Absolutely not!" Vulcan argued.

"Yeah," agreed Talia, "I've got places to be."

"Sorry, ma'am," apologized a guard. "This will be over much sooner if you two just comply. We can do this the hard way if you want."

"We'll do it _my_ way!" Vulcan exclaimed. He reached for a nearby guard, grabbed him by the neck, and threw him at another guard. The two were knocked onto the ground, and the remaining four guards immediately tried to attack Vulcan with the blunt ends of their weapons.

It wasn't hard for Vulcan to grab a spear and start swinging it around. Bystanders fled the area, flooding into nearby streets that weren't as violence-heavy.

Talia used the conflict as distraction so that she could slip away from the guards and Vulcan. None of them seemed to notice her as she ran in-between buildings onto another street, blending in with the crowd. However, she knew that Castor and Pollux were still out in the city, and there was a possibility that they were searching the same street for her.

Luckily for Talia, she saw a wagon being carried by two horses approaching her, going down the street. As the wagon and it's driver passed her, she hopped onto the wagon and crouched, peeking her head over the barrels it had. What caught her by surprise was a slurping sound from behind her.

She turned her head, and there she saw Pollux sticking his tongue under a flow of chocolate coming out of a hole in one of the barrels. She had no idea how he didn't notice her jump in.

Then, from the edge of the wagon, Castor climbed on top of the barrels, looking down at Pollux.

"Quit fooling around!" Castor ordered. He didn't notice Talia either. "The girl could be anywhere in the city by now!"

"Is that her?" Pollux asked, pointing at Talia, finally having noticed her.

"Yes, that's her..." Castor confirmed. His eyes widened in realization. "Yes! That's her!"

Castor hopped onto the wagon floor, trying to land on top of Talia. She easily rolled to the side and got on her feet.

"What's going on back there?" The driver of the wagon turned his head to see the fight in the back. Castor, not wanting any interference, ran past Talia and kicked the driver off of the wagon. As the driver fell, he inadvertently whipped the horses into action, sending the wagon speeding down the street where bystanders had to jump out of the way to avoid harm.

Talia now had Pollux in front of her and Castor behind her. She was really sick of their mugs, so she attacked first. Little did any of them know where the wagon was going towards: the courtyard of Arendelle.

* * *

 **Present day**

"Looking back at it, I'm more guilty than I gave myself credit for," admitted Talia to Elsa. She then muttered, "And my dumb-ass just admitted that."

"We're already giving you special treatment," Kristoff reminded. "Are you asking for us to take it away?"

"If I wasn't pretty, you would've taken it away already," assumed Talia. "That why you haven't talked to Castor or Pollux yet?"

"They weren't really asking for an audience," Elsa informed.

"What about Vulcan?" Talia asked.

"Oh," muttered Elsa. She then spoke louder, saying, "We only arrested the three of you. My guards told me that six of them were found beaten and bloodied in the town, but we just assumed you guys were responsible."

"Oh, that's not good," said Talia.

"Relax," Kristoff said. "We haven't seen any action in the town in hours. The guy probably crawled back into his hidey-hole to lick his wounds."

"They're not as simple as that, I'm afraid. We should really hurry up and finish this business before the Red Wolves make their next move."

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Atticus watched his feet as he walked through the field of corpses that used to be the throne room of Arendelle Castle. A dozen guards laid dead on the floor, and a few of them were being looted by a small number of Red Wolves nearby.

Vulcan sat on the throne, laid back, with his war-hammer sitting on his lap. Sitting against the throne, gagged and tied, was Anna. She squeezed her eyes, trying to avoid looking at the massacre in the throne room. Tears ran down her red cheeks.

"Arendelle should be embarrassed," announced Vulcan. "Their guards are made of paper, and real paper pose more of a challenge than them."

The Red Wolves in the throne room laughed, recalling how easy it was to kill the guards that opposed them. Atticus didn't laugh, however. He looked at Vulcan with disgust.

"Do you have any idea what you've just done?" Atticus asked.

"I've taken the castle!" Vulcan chuckled. "I've got the princess as my prize." He then pulled Anna up, grabbing her and forcing her to sit on his lap. He took a sniff of her hair, and she tried to pull away only to have Vulcan hold her harder.

"You've just made us enemies of Arendelle," Atticus revealed. "When other kingdoms hear about this, we'll be their enemies too."

"Relax, Mercury, other countries won't hear about it if there's nobody to tell them."

"You plan on murdering royalty too?"

"When the Queen and Talia get back, we'll kill them, we'll take the dagger, and then we burn the castle to the ground. There's no evidence of us, and we get what we need."

Anna made grunting noises in protest, and Vulcan pushed her off of his lap and onto the ground.

Atticus stomped towards Vulcan, helping Anna up in the process.

"You're unstable," barked Atticus. "If Roth were here, he'd give me permission to shoot you. Hell, who's to say you weren't a casualty of the battle?"

Vulcan quickly swung his war-hammer horizontally, trying to hit Atticus. Atticus quickly jumped back, unsheathing his weapon in its straight-sword version. The other Wolves watched in amusement to see which of the two would end up on top.

Atticus swung his sword at Vulcan who quickly blocked it with the handle of the war-hammer. Vulcan attempted to jab the war-hammer at Atticus, but Atticus easily side-stepped it, grabbing onto the handle of the war-hammer. However, what he failed to realize was that Vulcan was physically stronger, so Vulcan pulled on his weapon, causing Atticus to fall towards him.

Atticus caught himself by rolling and landing on his feet, behind Vulcan. Before he could attack Vulcan from behind, he heard Roth's voice yell, "Enough!"

Groaning, Atticus used his sword to help him get on his feet.

Roth walked through the throne room, being careful not to trip on the corpses.

"You're both on the same side," Roth reminded.

"The hell we are," Atticus said. "Murdering royal guards and kidnapping a princess are sure-fire ways to get us all killed."

"I'll admit, Vulcan's methods can be quite... extreme," muttered Roth. "But he accomplished his task."

"What?" Atticus angrily asked.

"I told him to take the castle and the princess," revealed Roth.

"So you're both idiots," Atticus insulted.

"Watch your tongue!" Vulcan barked.

"Easy now, Vulcan," chuckled Roth. "I've got thicker skin than you think. I can take what Mercury can dish out."

"Is this job so important that you'll risk living with an eye over your shoulder for the rest of your life?" Atticus asked, clearly in disbelief.

"Absolutely," Roth said.

"And what happened to you letting me handle it?"

"I was honestly still considering it when I walked in. This fiasco was just my insurance, but since you obviously can't condone getting our hands dirty, then I can't trust you to finish this."

They all heard Anna grunt as she wiggled her way out of her gag.

"You're all dead men," Anna threatened. "For what you've done here today, my sister will follow you to the ends of the earth if it means getting justice."

Vulcan prepared to hit Anna, but Roth simply put his hand on Vulcan's shoulder to get him to stop.

Roth got on one knee and leaned in towards Anna, saying, "I'm counting on it."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**


	5. Agartha

Previously on Frozen: The Last Paragons

Kristoff, Talia, and Elsa were traveling to the home of the trolls in the forests of Arendelle. On the way, they remember the details of Talia's previous intrusion: when she arrived in Arendelle, she came into conflict with three Red Wolves, and this led to Talia and two of the Red Wolves being arrested after they crashed the royal wedding. As they travel to the valley, the Red Wolves have taken over Arendelle Castle and have Anna held hostage.

 **5\. Agartha**

* * *

"We're here," Kristoff announced as he, Elsa, and Talia entered the troll village.

From the forest path, they entered a wide clearing where nothing but rocks covered in moss lay. The sun was setting but the orange color of it couldn't be seen in the village. All there was were dull, dark colors such as grey, dark blue, and dark green.

Talia raised an eyebrow as she darted her head back and forth, absorbing the nonsense that she saw before her. She reckoned that Kristoff was messing with her. The expectations she had were of large, grand creatures that radiated wisdom. Instead, she got rocks. Rocks that weren't even special in their own right.

"This is it?" Talia asked.

"Yeah," Kristoff confirmed.

"I didn't have to leave Sweden to see a bunch of rocks."

"They always do this whenever I bring over someone new," Kristoff explained. "They're a tad too dramatic, I'll admit."

Kristoff leaned in closer to a nearby rock, whispering, "Pst. You're embarrassing me in front of our guests."

The rock immediately transformed into a humanoid being and slapped Kristoff on his cheek. This caused Talia to step backwards in shock, tripping over another rock in the process. The rock she tripped on rolled forward, transforming as well.

"We're sleeping, Kristoff," said the male troll that slapped him. "Come back later."

"You dummy," said the female troll that Talia tripped on. She waddled over to the other troll, smacking him on the back. "Today was Kristoff's wedding!"

"Kristoff's wedding!" exclaimed every single rock in the valley as they transformed back into their humanoid forms. This caused Talia to shudder in surprise. Elsa, however, was smiling, greeting some of the trolls who were around her with gentle pats and hand-shakes.

"How'd the wedding go?" Bulda, Kristoff's adopted mother, asked.

"Um..." muttered Kristoff. He looked towards Elsa and Talia.

Elsa nudged Talia forward, saying, "You can take this one."

Talia chuckled nervously as all of the trolls in the valley turned their attention towards her.

"It's kind of a long story," Talia explained. "I'm sure you all are very busy, so I don't think-"

"Please, Talia," Elsa interrupted, flashing a devilish grin. "Trolls spend most of their day napping. I'm sure they can make the time out of the day to listen in on what you have to say."

Talia quickly leaned into Kristoff's ear to whisper.

"Will they hurt me? Throw rocks at me? Transform me into a plant?" Talia asked.

"They're a peaceful people," Kristoff assured.

With confidence instilled in her, Talia spoke loudly, saying very quickly, "I accidentally ruined the wedding by barging in the courtyard fighting two idiots on a wagon."

There was a long, awkward silence as every single troll stared at Talia, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Elsa was checking her fingernails, waiting for the silence to be over. Kristoff awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Talia gave off a desperate smile, impatiently tapping her foot.

At the same instant, every troll blinked twice, and one yelled, "Get her!"

As the trolls closed in on Talia, she got on her knees and hugged Elsa's legs, squeezing as hard as she could.

"I see why you brought her here," a troll said to Kristoff. "You wanted us to get rid of her without leaving any evidence. Smart."

"What, no!" Kristoff denied.

"You said that they were a peaceful people!" Talia barked at Kristoff.

"I said _peaceful_ , not _pacifist_!" Kristoff argued. He then removed his glove, put two fingers in his mouth, and whistled very loudly. This managed to get every troll to stop in their tracks, leaving a small circle around the three humans.

"We're not here about the wedding," explained Kristoff. "We just need to talk to Grand Pabbie."

Instinctively, some trolls moved aside to clear a path from the group to Grand Pabbie who was lost in the crowd just a second ago.

"Kristoff," Grand Pabbie greeted, smiling gently.

Kristoff made the walk towards Grand Pabbie, but Elsa and Talia weren't too quick to follow given that Talia was still on her knees.

"Talia," called Elsa.

"Yes?" Talia asked. Her voice was muffled by Elsa's dress.

"You can stop pressing your face against my butt, now," ordered Elsa.

Talia pulled away from Elsa, blushing as she realized what she held her head against the entire time. She quickly got on her feet, brushing the dirt off of her pants. Before she could apologize, Elsa had already followed Kristoff to Grand Pabbie, and she quickly did the same.

"It's always a delight when you come to visit," Pabbie said, "but you never visit because you miss us."

"What?" Kristoff blew raspberries. "That's not true."

"You _always_ need something," Pabbie went on.

"You can't really believe I'm _that_ shallow, Pabbie," defended Kristoff.

"Yeah, he has a point," Elsa admitted.

" _Thank_ you," said Kristoff.

"I was talking about Pabbie," clarified Elsa.

"Can we stop using pronouns like that so I don't make an idiot of myself?" Kristoff requested. "Besides, _you_ don't visit them anymore than I do."

"I have a kingdom to run," reminded Elsa. "What's _your_ excuse?"

"I'm the official Arendelle ice master and deliverer!"

"Yeah, on _paper_. Tell me one thing you do besides playing with your lute and reindeer."

"I bang your sister."

"You son-of-a-"

"Guys!" Talia interrupted. "As much as I'd love to see Kristoff in a block of ice, we have business here."

"Further proving my point," Pabbie said. "How can I help you, Talia?"

"How do you know my name?"

"I read your mind."

Talia's eyes widened in shock and awe, disbelieving Pabbie's magical abilities. Pabbie, however, began to chuckle when he saw Talia's incredulous expression.

"I heard Elsa call you by name a few moments ago," Pabbie explained. "Mind reading? Ridiculous! In all seriousness, please let me see that dagger."

Pabbie expectantly held his hand out to Kristoff. The mountain-man had the same level of surprise Talia had seconds before given that none of them ever mentioned the dagger while at the village.

Elsa was equally as confused, and she began to ask, "How'd you-"

"How'd I know you were here regarding the dagger?" Pabbie finished. "Quite simple: I've never seen anyone bring the craftsmanship of trolls into the valley before. As a matter of fact, I've never actually _seen_ troll craftsmanship."

"Then how can you recognize it?" Talia asked.

"See these markings on the handle?" Pabbie showed the foreign text to the three humans. "This is ancient troll text written in our ancient language. Where'd you get it?"

"I stole it from my brother who stole it from a guy who found it while excavating a troll temple," Talia explained.

"Can you decipher it?" Kristoff asked.

"I'm afraid we modern trolls only speak English," revealed Pabbie.

"That's... disappointing," muttered Talia.

"I can give it a shot," Pabbie offered, "but... Hold on a second... I think I've seen these exact symbols before."

"How convenient," Kristoff said.

"Someone please fetch me our history book," Pabbie requested.

It wasn't long until two trolls brought back a large book with a brown, leather cover and wrinkly, yellow pages. It needed two trolls to carry since it was almost the size of a fully grown troll. While they did so, Pabbie handed the dagger back to Kristoff. They dropped the book in front of Pabbie, and the old troll immediately began flipping through the pages.

"What's with the book?" Talia whispered to Kristoff.

"It's been a part of our culture for generations," Kristoff explained. "Trolls from each generation would write about the major events regarding their people and add them to the book."

"True," confirmed Pabbie as he sifted through the pages. "However, if I'm right about this, then that dagger would pre-date this book by centuries."

"Then how could you find anything about the dagger in the book?" Elsa asked.

"Because this book doesn't just tell history," Pabbie said. "It tells legends."

"Oh my god, can we stop being so cryptic and get to the point?" Kristoff demanded.

He stopped on a page full of text like most of the other pages. However, the bottom third of the page was devoid of text. What was there were the same symbols inscribed on the dagger's handle.

"Magnificent..." muttered Pabbie.

"What did I _just_ say?" Kristoff exclaimed.

Pabbie flipped back a few pages and stopped on a page with only one line of large, bold text. Anyone could recognize it as the indicator of a new chapter.

"Agartha," announced Pabbie.

"Was _that_ English?" Talia asked.

"Yes," Pabbie confirmed. He then pointed to the dagger. "Do you know what that is?"

"They called it The Key," Talia answered. "It's supposed to unlock some ancient power, whatever that means."

"That dagger is literally the key to Agartha," Pabbie announced.

"But what _is_ Agartha?" Elsa asked.

"The Spanish called it El Dorado," Pabbie explained. "The Tibetans called it Shambhala. Atlantis, Arcadia, Valhalla, you name it, all of these legendary cities have been based on Agartha. All ancient cultures had their own version, but there has always been only one true city."

"Come on, its gotta be just a myth," Kristoff said.

"You've lived with us for most of your life, Kristoff," reminded Pabbie. "You should know better than to disbelieve in myth."

"Well, it's not comforting to know that the Red Wolves aren't chasing a fairy tale," Talia muttered.

"There's more to Agartha than meets-the-eye, isn't there?" Elsa asked.

"As with all things." Pabbie nodded. "I'm afraid the city itself isn't nearly as impressive as its contents."

"First off, tell us where it is," Talia said.

"It's not so simple as that," Pabbie revealed. "Please, listen."

Pabbie raised his hands in the air and conjured up magical images that floated in front of the humans. Elsa was reminded of the images Pabbie once showed her when she was a child of her demonstrating her powers.

"Unfortunately, the finer details of the story may have been lost to us," Pabbie said, "but I think I've got the idea. As you can see, we trolls live with nature. However, millennia ago, we trolls were masters of nature thanks to Igo. Never before have our kind seen a troll so gifted magically and mechanically as Igo."

The images showed the silhouette of a troll who was rather unremarkable, but it was Igo's mind that made him unique, not his appearance.

"Igo created a device that would 'control the seasons.' He made sure that there were no written instructions on how he achieved such a feat, fearing that there would be those who would replicate his work and misuse it."

The image showed Igo holding something with both hands. The object in question obscured by the shining light it radiated. It looked as if Igo was holding a miniature sun in his hands.

"Wait, 'control the seasons?'" Talia asked. "Igo had the power to change the weather?"

"Again, the finer details have been lost," Pabbie repeated, "but I believe it had the ability to do just that, yes."

"Igo suddenly became the most dangerous being in the world, huh," Elsa said.

"Exactly," confirmed Pabbie. "Igo, however, had a heart purer than most. The trolls understood how dangerous of a power they had created, so they sought a way to keep the power safe from any who would misuse it. They started to build a sanctuary solely for the purpose of housing the artifact."

The image showed the landscape of a large city. The architecture of the city wasn't very remarkable, and it could've been any human city. However, that was due to the fact that Pabbie himself did not know what Agartha actually looked like so he couldn't conjure the images of its architecture.

"Agartha," said Kristoff.

"Cool, where?" Talia asked.

"You could let me finish the story," Pabbie suggested.

"I could, but we all already know where this story is going," Talia said. "It'd just save us a lot of time and trouble if you skipped to the part where I learn where I go next."

"Listen, Talia," Pabbie started. Suddenly, his tone became less sage-like and more like the tone an annoyed teacher would get at a disrespectful student. "You're new here. You don't know how boring the lives of us trolls are. I have to govern the remainders of a civilization, but do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be a problem-solver when there are no problems to solve since every single troll lives in harmony with the others? The only excitement I ever get in my life is when this reindeer-fetishist brings his human problems over to me. It makes me feel like I still have purpose in my dull life, so please, don't take this away from me! I give out exposition! You need my exposition! Let me give you exposition!"

Every single person in the valley stared at Pabbie, wide-eyed. The rant was completely out of character, and no one could remember the last time Pabbie got mad.

"Talia, you stole from a legion of deadly mercenaries, you ruined my wedding, and you made the wisest being on the planet snap at you all in the span of a week," Kristoff said. "How do you do it?"

"I'm sure Talia meant no offense," Elsa told Pabbie. "Please, continue."

As if nothing had happened, Pabbie continued where he left off in the story of Igo.

"Agartha was a haven for trolls, built underground so that they were disconnected from the problems of the human world. The artifact, which the trolls eventually named 'The Globe,' was hidden away at the heart of Agartha. However, Igo was upset that the trolls could not share their architectural achievement with the humans. He believed in co-existence, not isolation. He convinced his people to let humans live in Agartha, and they agreed to allow it, but there was one thing that was clear among them all: the humans could not learn what Agartha was hiding."

The image showed a human kneeling down and shaking hands with a troll.

"Human nature stayed true to itself as they grew curious of what the trolls wouldn't tell them. Curiosity turned into suspicion, suspicion turned into tension, and tension turned into revolt. A great battle took place in Agartha, started by the humans who wanted to fight their way into the center of the city."

Next, the image changed into the same human and troll clashing swords.

"Most of the trolls and humans died during the battle. The humans who survived fled the city, allowing it to live in legend until the story died off as generations passed. The trolls who survived, including Igo, locked the city away with The Globe still inside of it."

The image changed into humongous gates being closed by teams of trolls.

"Igo, however, wouldn't have his creations lost to the world until its end. Even with Agartha locked away, he brought with him the key to re-opening it should the need ever come."

The image changed into the dagger they were all familiar with: a ruby blade with a golden handle.

Kristoff held the dagger in front of him.

"This is _literally_ the key to Agartha," Kristoff said.

"And the ancient power the Red Wolves are after is The Globe," Elsa added.

"They want the power to control the seasons," Talia summarized.

"I wonder how these humans could learn of Agartha," muttered Pabbie.

"Grimlock," answered Talia. "He spent his life researching and learning about trolls and your legends. It looks like that book isn't the only place this story is written down."

"Why would they need the power to control seasons anyway?" Elsa asked

"Think about it," Talia said. "They could make an eternal winter to prevent any crops from growing and kill the livestock on an entire country. They'll have complete control over it, and they can make demands. They could sell The Globe to the highest bidder, and whoever that may be could be even worse than the Wolves. They could be hired out by a kingdom to weaken another for war. With The Globe, they'll become the most powerful and dangerous force in the world overnight."

"Talia's right," Kristoff said. "Now more than ever, we can't let the Wolves get what they want."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Elsa asked.

"We get it first," answered Kristoff.

Kristoff shot a smile at Talia, and she grinned from ear to ear. The two of them were on the same page for once, and Talia felt excited knowing that she had at least one ally.

"Don't get too excited," warned Elsa, "that's easier said than done. Think about what you're up against. You want to race against a deadly group of mercenaries and their incredibly wealthy benefactor for a long, lost artifact hidden in a locked and forgotten city?"

"Yes," Talia and Kristoff said at the same time.

"You guys haven't even asked one of the biggest questions: Where is Agartha?"

"Good thinking," Kristoff complimented. "I knew you could see it our way."

Elsa facepalmed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you a thing about Agartha's location," Pabbie apologized.

"Don't tell me we wasted our time." Talia expressed disappointment. "What's the point of The Key if we can't find what it opens?"

"It's not over, yet," Pabbie assured. "I may not know where Agartha is, but if there's one troll who does, it's Igo."

"Igo's still alive?" Elsa asked.

"No, he is long dead," said Pabbie. "However, you mentioned that the dagger was found in a temple. A temple implies religious significance, but we trolls don't have any gods, so why would we need a temple? If we were to build such structures, then they would be the burial places of the best of us or to be the focal points to our magical powers. If the dagger was found there..."

"Then that temple in Sweden could actually be the tomb of Igo," finished Talia. "And if Igo left ways for people to one day find Agartha, then where else would the clues be but at his tomb?"

"Precisely," confirmed Pabbie.

"I thought that the Red Wolves took over the excavation site of the tomb," Elsa said. "What if they already know where Agartha is?"

"That won't help them if they don't have The Key," Talia explained.

"Even more of a reason to keep it out of their hands," Kristoff said.

"Too bad our next step is to go to the lion's den itself," muttered Talia.

"Stop," requested Elsa, "I need you two to just stop."

Kristoff and Talia let go of their excitement for a second and gave Elsa their undivided attention.

"Did it ever once occur to you that Agartha was built for a reason? To keep the power Igo created from reaching those who would misuse it. I don't know about you guys, but that sounds like something should stay _buried_. I say we destroy the dagger while we have the chance."

Kristoff spoke up, "Elsa-"

"Did you completely forget about Anna?" Elsa asked. "You have responsibilities here, Kristoff. You can't just run off with a stranger to live some swashbuckling dream of treasure and adventure. As for you, Talia, I know you risked a lot and left everything behind to bring this to us, and you succeeded. The Red Wolves don't have the dagger anymore so they can't open Agartha. Congratulations, but wanting to open Agartha for yourselves is selfish, and it doesn't make you any better than them."

Kristoff and Talia gave each other looks that acknowledged Elsa's arguments. She was being rather rational. They were too busy romanticizing the discovery of Agartha that they failed to see the repercussions of doing so. Kristoff practically gave up the life of exotic adventuring when he proposed to Anna, and it was in Talia's best interest to never interfere in the affairs of the Red Wolves again.

"You're right," Kristoff admitted. "I'm not going anywhere, but no way in hell am I letting Talia go out there alone if she does."

Elsa sighed. "Talia, I need to know that you'll give this up. It's not worth it."

Talia nodded, quietly saying, "I won't try to find Agartha."

"Thank you." Elsa was relieved. "Given the circumstances, I can let you permanently stay in Arendelle if you want. You'll be given a house. We can provide food and money for you until you can support yourself."

"Thank you," Talia said, although she wasn't necessarily accepting the offer. "Although, I've never stayed in one place that long before, and I never really had a job that didn't require my fists."

"We can protect you here," assured Elsa. "In other countries, the Red Wolves will hunt you. I'll make sure you're safe, although I doubt you'll need my protection."

Talia was shocked. After all the disaster she brought on Elsa, the Queen was still offering her a peaceful life in Arendelle. She smiled and almost shed a tear, happy to know that the ice queen had a warm heart after all.

"There's no catch?" Talia asked.

"Not necessarily," Elsa said. "First, you need to help me get rid of any Red Wolves left in Arendelle."

"Done."

"Secondly, you have to surrender the dagger to us to be destroyed."

"It's not like you were going to give it back to me anyway."

"You're right."

Pabbie interjected. "I must mention that it may be impossible to destroy The Key."

"How do you know?" Kristoff asked.

"We trolls build things to last forever," answered Pabbie. "Our craftsmanship is of the highest quality, eh, allegedly. You can't simply break The Key on a rock - don't get any ideas, mind you - or melt it."

"So, we need to keep it safe," Elsa said. "Pabbie, do you mind taking the dagger? It belongs to your people after all."

"I would," Pabbie said, "but..."

"We don't want to give the Red Wolves a reason to go after the trolls," Kristoff finished.

"So we can't destroy it, and we can't give it to the trolls," listed Elsa. "I guess I'll have to lock it in Arendelle and throw away the key."

* * *

After Elsa, Kristoff, and Talia said their goodbyes to Pabbie and the trolls, they made their return journey back to Arendelle. Elsa took the lead, holding onto The Key herself. Night had already fallen, and they were eager to go home and rest after the incredibly stressful day.

Kristoff and Talia walked side-by-side behind Elsa, whispering to each other.

"The most logical thing to do with The Key is to throw it at the bottom of the ocean," Talia whispered to Kristoff.

"I was thinking about the exact same thing," Kristoff muttered. "Elsa's a smart girl, too. I guarantee you that it's the first thing that came to her mind."

"Well, why do you think she didn't suggest it?" Talia asked.

Kristoff smirked. "Because deep down, she wants to see Agartha."

Talia smiled as well. She then spoke out loud, "Say, Elsa...

"Hm?" Elsa asked.

"Say we wait a bit," suggested Talia. "Wait a few weeks, a few months even. Say that we don't run into any Red Wolves in that time period. Say that I go check out the excavation site for myself, and say that it's abandoned. Say that I learn where Agartha is. You'd still have The Key. I'd say that discovering Agartha wouldn't be the worst idea then, wouldn't you?"

"Well..." Elsa said, trying her best to suppress a smile. "If all of those conditions were met... I'd consider it."

Kristoff and Talia fist-bumped behind Elsa's back.

"I can't wait to tell Anna about this," announced Kristoff. "She's going to lose her-"

"Wait!" Elsa barked.

She ran ahead, and the others followed her, confused as to what she saw. However, Talia looked up at the sky to see smoke, and she knew something terrible had happened.

The path led out of the forest directly onto a hilltop where the entire Arendelle valley could be seen. Their eyes set on the castle of Arendelle - Elsa's home - which was engulfed in smoke and flame.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment/review to let me know what you think.

The good news, I'm finding more time to write. The bad news, college is about to start soon so that may negatively affect my writing speed.

Ciao.


	6. Horror Hits Home

**6\. Horror Hits Home**

A crowd of civilians gathered around the plaza on the side of the castle bridge opposite to the castle itself. None dared to venture across the bridge, fearing the danger that the flames of the burning castle could bring. However, they noticed that no one was crossing the bridge from the castle side despite the gates being swung wide open. Smoke obscured the castle courtyard, making it hard to see what was happening there

Civilians talked and theorized amongst themselves as to what caused the fire and where the inhabitants of the castle currently were. Some feared the absolute worst had come to the poor servants and guards working in the castle at the time. The royal family was no where to be seen either, making them likely victims of the inferno according to some of the citizens.

Some guardsmen who were out patrolling the city at the time the fire started were in the courtyard among the common folk. They did their best to calm the public and shield them from the fire, but none could muster up the courage to trek across the stone bridge themselves to look for survivors.

"Please, move!" Kristoff's voice ordered from behind the crowds.

Kristoff, Elsa, and Talia squeezed through the crowded courtyard and stood at the foot of the bridge, examining the sight before them.

"Your majesty," a guard called, "we had feared you were in the fire."

"Yet you didn't go in yourself to save me?" Elsa asked, angrily. "Or _anyone_ for that matter?"

"Solid bunch of guys you have hired, Elsa," Talia sarcastically muttered.

"Where's Anna?" Kristoff desperately asked the crowd.

"We've not seen her," a civilian answered.

"She must still be in the castle grounds," another civilian added.

"Elsa," Kristoff said, "we _have_ to go in there."

"I don't need any convincing," Elsa said as she began to run across the bridge.

However, at that moment, figures appeared from out of the smoke on the other side. Sven, the reindeer, rode out of the castle gates with Olaf bouncing on his back, both completely covered in soot. Both of them looked like they had just gone through hell as they panted with expressions of fear and desperation.

Kristoff held his hand out in front of him to get Sven to slow down, and the reindeer came to a complete halt in front of his concerned friends.

"Anna," Olaf said, gasping. "She's... Bad guys... Kidnapped..."

"Take a breath, Olaf," Kristoff ordered. "What about Anna?"

"Are you not that bright?" Talia asked Kristoff. "Anna's been kidnapped."

"She's more like a hostage," clarified Olaf.

"Who has her?" Elsa asked. She dreaded that she already knew the answers.

"Red Wolves," answered Talia. "Got to be."

Kristoff muttered a curse, stomping one foot in anger. He then ordered to Olaf, "You and Sven stay here."

Kristoff ran off with Talia right behind him. Elsa followed, but when the guardsmen attempted to follow her, she turned back to give them instructions.

"I need two men on me," Elsa ordered. "The rest I need here at the bridge in case any Red Wolves try to make their escape this way."

She then ran back after her friends with an escort of two guards.

The group of five ran across the bridge through the gates of Arendelle Castle. The smoke of the castle on fire obscured their vision and made it hard for them to breath until it cleared up for them to see what awaited them in the courtyard.

Standing in front of the large fountain that was in the heart of the courtyard was a band of Red Wolves. The most notable member of the Red Wolves present was Vulcan, standing in the middle of the group of five Red Wolves. To his left was Castor and Pollux, both of them having seemingly been freed from the dungeons of Arendelle. The other two mercenaries to Vulcan's right didn't seem to be anymore than nameless goons.

In front of Vulcan was Anna, bound by her wrists, gagged, on her knees, and facing in the same direction the Red Wolves were, and that direction was facing towards Elsa and her friends. Both parties stood nearly twenty feet away from each other. Elsa dared not take another step closer given that Vulcan held his war-hammer so that it was resting on Anna's shoulder.

"You have committed grievous crimes against Arendelle," Elsa announced. "Surrender now or risk receiving the punishment of war criminals."

"The hell kind of punishment do we risk now?" Vulcan sarcastically asked.

"A minute ago, you were public drinkers," Elsa elaborated. "Ten seconds ago, you were florist shoplifters. Now, you're guys who just pissed off the _wrong_ people."

Pollux whispered to Castor, "This is serious, Castor. I 'eard they did bad things to florist shoplifters."

Castor chuckled, assuming Pollux was joking, but when Pollux failed to manage even a smile at his jest, Castor's amusement faded.

"You don't know what a florist is, do you?" Castor asked.

"Ain't it someone who puts down carpets?" Pollux answered.

Before Castor could whisper an insult at his colleague, Vulcan spoke back to Elsa.

"Your guards tried to tell us the same thing," Vulcan told Elsa. "I'd tell you to ask them how I responded if their corpses weren't burning inside the castle."

Elsa clenched her fist. She muttered, "War criminal, it is."

"Talia!" Vulcan called. "Hanging around with royalty? You upgraded your company, that's for sure. Can't say I'm not hurt, though."

"Sorry about my insensitivity," replied Talia.

"Let her go!" Kristoff demanded Vulcan.

"Clearly you've never been in a standoff before," Talia said to Kristoff. "He wants the dagger."

" _You_ gotta be the husband!" Vulcan exclaimed, clearly amused by how underwhelming he found Kristoff. "Christopher, right? Chris, my boss is on my ass about a certain something Talia took from us, and I'm getting really annoyed by how difficult you all are making this for me. You have what I want, and it just so happens that I have something that _you_ want."

Vulcan pointed at Anna before him.

"I say we make a trade," continued Vulcan. "I'm more than willing to hand over the princess safe and sound if you guys give me the dagger. Sound fair?"

"Elsa," Talia whispered. "Freeze them all."

"I can't," Elsa revealed. "There's too much heat in the air. It's like the fire is negating my powers."

"Shouldn't you have considered that _before_ we ran in here?"

"I've never been in this situation before."

"Great," Talia sarcastically muttered.

"Hey!" Vulcan called. "Your talking is making me feel uncomfortable. When I'm uncomfortable, I tend to _accidentally_ swing my hammer the wrong way."

"We're just discussing your offer," Elsa lied.

"We have to give him the dagger," Kristoff said to Elsa and Talia. "He'll kill Anna if we don't."

"There's got to be another way," suggested Talia. "Remember, this dagger is the key to Agartha. I want to save Anna just as much as you do, but we can't just give it up so easily."

"You're right," Elsa agreed.

"Elsa!" Kristoff was shocked by Elsa's suggestion.

"Hold on, Kristoff," said Elsa. She continued talking to Talia. "We shouldn't give them the dagger, but it doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Unless you can come up with a plan to save Anna within the next ten seconds, we're gonna have to do what they want."

Talia sighed and slid The Key from out of her boot.

"We have to save Anna _now_ ," she agreed. "We can save The Key later."

Elsa nodded in accordance and gently took The Key from Talia's hands. She then called out to Vulcan, "All right! The deal is on."

"Up, girl," ordered Vulcan to Anna. He spoke louder to Elsa, "We'll exchange at the halfway point."

Vulcan relieved Anna of the weight of the war-hammer, and the princess got on her feet. She marched toward the point in-between both parties with Vulcan following her, still holding his heavy weapon.

At Vulcan's request, the parties stopped at the halfway point, leaving about three feet of space between each other. Despite Vulcan being much, much taller than Elsa, she didn't seem to be intimidated by him. She stared him down as she would at any petty criminal.

He extended his big, meaty hand, saying, "The dagger."

"I want Anna to join my friends first," bargained Elsa.

"Fair enough." Vulcan acquiesced to Elsa's terms, and he nudged Anna forward. The sisters shared a quick glance at each other before Anna joined Kristoff and Talia, embracing Kristoff as tightly as she could after he untied her restraints and removed her gag.

"The dagger," Vulcan repeated. "Don't try anything funny. I can assure you, I can swing fast; faster than it'll take for you to run away."

Elsa reluctantly and slowly took The Key and placed it in Vulcan's palm.

He smiled and said, "You'd have froze me by now if you could. Good to know that you have a weakness. Coincidentally, it's the weakness that your servants inside the castle are about to die to."

"What?!" Elsa angrily asked.

Vulcan pointed towards the large doors that served as the main entrance into the castle. From the outside, it was barred closed by debris. Elsa listened, trying her best to focus on the sounds coming from inside the castle. Sure enough, she heard muffled shouts and knocking and banging.

"Just a little insurance is all," Vulcan explained. "Wanna make sure you don't chase me while I have this work of art in my hands. You can save your people in the castle and probably die or you can chase after me and probably die, but you can't do both."

Vulcan did a bow and snapped his fingers, walking off with his four men towards the castle gates. On his way, he and Talia made eye contact.

"See you around, kid," he said.

Before long, the Red Wolves disappeared in the smoke, presumably on the bridge to exit the castle grounds.

"We need to go after them," Talia insisted.

"No," Anna argued. "Vulcan was right, there are still people inside the castle. They'll suffocate if we don't help them now."

Anna ran to the doors of the castle and Kristoff followed her with the intent of helping. They worked on removing the debris that consisted of broken furniture, barrels, boxes, and other miscellaneous items that created a small mountain.

Elsa prepared to run off to help, but Talia put her hand on the Queen's shoulder.

"I'm not going to go after the Wolves," Elsa asserted.

"I won't ask you to," Talia said. "Elsa, _you_ can stop this fire. Can't you get outside the castle walls and rain down ice or something?"

"I... Hm..." Elsa was contemplating the best course of action for herself. "You're right. I _need_ you to help Kristoff and Anna in the meantime."

"I promise," said Talia.

Elsa and Talia went their separate directions. As Talia helped reduce the debris blocking the doors, Elsa ran out onto the bridge.

Past the bridge, she found no civilians present in the courtyard. All she saw were defeated guards. The Red Wolves officially got away, but Elsa put that thought out of her mind. At the center of the bridge, she cause herself to rise up into the air by creating a long, cylindrical platform of ice. When she stopped growing the platform, she was high enough to overlook the entire castle.

Elsa raised her hands into the sky over the castle and closed her eyes, concentrating on her powers. She pictured in her mind what she wanted to create and focused all of the magical strength she could muster into making it a reality.

Magical energy shot from her hands, and these beams of energy began to form a sort of globe over Arendelle Castle. Brewing inside of the invisible globe was a small-scale snowstorm.

Talia looked up at the change in the weather around her as she helped force open the doors with all of the debris gone. Immediately, servants black with soot and coughing violently rushed out. There were around ten in total who ran out.

Kristoff looked into the castle and found the great entrance hall that the doors led into bright with flames. Fire burned around the center pathway and around the stairs up to the second level of the castle. An older male servant was limping through the pathway until he collapsed onto his hands and knees.

As Anna and Talia tended to the servants who had just exited, Kristoff ran in for the man.

"We need to hurry," Kristoff told the man as he helped him on this feet.

"My wife..." The man coughed hysterically. He couldn't finish his sentence before Kristoff helped him out into the courtyard. He finally managed to express to Kristoff his thoughts. "She's still... inside. We were... separated."

"Which room did you last see her in?" Kristoff asked.

"I don't remember," said the man.

Kristoff took a deep breath before calling Anna over to him. Anna was in the middle of leading the servants with Talia outside of the courtyard when she heard a Kristoff beckon her over. She broke off from the group and immediately started to help support the servant.

"Anna, his wife is still inside somewhere," Kristoff informed. "I'm going to look for her."

"We'll go together," said Anna.

"Absolutely not," Kristoff argued. "Under no circumstance can you go in there."

"I can handle myself," insisted Anna.

"I don't doubt it," agreed Kristoff. He pecked Anna on the cheek. "But it wouldn't make sense for both of us to risk our lives."

"Then, let _me_ go in."

"Anna, I lived in the wild for most of my life. You've got to admit, I'm a little better suited for this."

"Can you two please decide?" The man asked, coughing. "My wife is still in there!"

"Of course," Kristoff said.

Before he ran back into the burning castle, Anna leaned forward to press a kiss on Kristoff's lips. She whispered to him "Good luck" as he ran inside.

"Anna," Talia called from behind.

Anna turned to find Talia jogging towards her before stopping to talk.

"Elsa's mini-blizzard is working but not fast enough," Talia revealed. "Where's Kristoff?"

"He ran in," Anna answered.

"Does he _realize_ that that's not a sauna?"

"This servant's wife is still inside somewhere. Kristoff went to save her."

"He's either very brave or very stupid," Talia muttered. She then spoke clearly to the servant. "Sir, can you make it to the bridge on your own?"

"I believe so," the servant said. Anna stopped supporting him, and he started to migrate in the direction the other servants were going.

Together, Talia and Anna stared at the doors into the burning castle, waiting for Kristoff to return with or without the servant he went in to save.

Talia looked back at all of the servants and counted only about a half dozen of them in all. None of them included guards. She never owned a castle, but she assumed that Arendelle would have more than the lot she saw working for them.

"No guards," Talia observed. "Did the Red Wolves do that?"

Anna nodded. "When the Red Wolves attacked the castle, they killed every single one of our guards who stood in their way. The guards who surrendered they killed just for the fun of it. It was a small group of Red Wolves, but they... They took so many lives."

She wiped her face, and Talia wasn't sure whether she was wiping away sweat or tears.

Talia didn't want to stress Anna anymore than she already was, but there was a question she had to ask.

"Was my brother there?" Talia asked.

"He have a scar from his eye to his chin?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, he was there. Don't worry, Talia, he didn't kill anyone. He only showed up after."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"He's probably still somewhere in Arendelle."

"Probably wherever Vulcan and those idiots are going, I bet..."

The wood from the ceiling began to collapse onto the ground floor of the castle. Anna and Talia both took steps backwards away from the doors.

"This place is falling apart," said Talia. "Kristoff will be buried if he doesn't come out soon."

"I'm going in," Anna announced.

"Anna, wait-"

As Anna stepped forward, parts of the ceiling over the doorway collapsed, somewhat blocking the entrance into the castle. The only way through the doorway was to climb over four feet of debris.

Before Anna could start the climb, she heard faint coughing from inside. Looking closely, she saw two dark figures in the smoke. She was glad to see that they were Kristoff and the servant he went in to save.

"Already started closing without us?" Kristoff asked at the sight of the debris.

"Just in case the fire didn't kill you," joked Anna.

Kristoff helped the servant over the debris, and Anna helped her off of the debris. She joined Anna and Talia outside of the burning castle.

It was then Kristoff's turn to make the climb over the wood. Just as he put his foot on it, he heard crackling from above. He looked up and found more debris falling right towards him. The twist was that the new set of falling wood was aflame.

Kristoff jumped backwards to dodge it. Although he was undamaged by it, it had layered over the previous block in the doorway. This time, the pile of debris reached about seven feet tall, and it was on fire, so Kristoff couldn't hope to climb it without severely injuring himself.

"Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed.

"I'm fine," Kristoff assured.

"What can we do to help?" Talia asked.

"Just get to safety," answered Kristoff. "I might have to wait the fire out. Unless I'm crazy, it looks like there's a blizzard happening outside... in the middle of July."

"You'll cook if you try to wait," Talia said. "The fire isn't even close to being gone."

"Then I'll have to look for another way out," said Kristoff.

"That's easier said than done," Anna reminded.

"Maybe," admitted Kristoff. "Go, Anna."

"I'm going to wait as long as it takes for you to come out," she insisted.

"Please, Anna, get to safety," Kristoff said. "That's all that matters to me now. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be just fine."

"Swear to me," Anna ordered.

She was torn on the inside. Not a hair on her body wanted to leave Kristoff's side, but she didn't want to have him worry about her.

"I swear," promised Kristoff. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Anna. "Good luck."

Kristoff heard Talia, Anna, and the servant walk away from the other side of the doorway.

He turned around, coughing violently and trying not to breath in all of the smoke. There was for sure no way out on the bottom floor. If there was, the servants would've used it earlier.

Kristoff reckoned that his best bet was upstairs. He thought about jumping out of a window upstairs, and although the fall could very well break his legs if not kill him, that was a lot better than a guaranteed death in the fire.

Immediately, he began to try to walk up the stairs in the main hall. Although they were littered with fiery debris, he was careful to avoid it. However, about halfway up the stairs, he heard a loud creaking noise below his feet. When he looked down, there was a large crackling sound of wood breaking, and the stairs below his feet collapsed.

Kristoff landed on his back atop a pile of debris mainly made up of the stairs. The back of his head hit hard against the wood, making his vision go fuzzy and he could hear nothing but a loud buzzing sound.

By the time his senses came back to him, it was too late. Burning debris directly above him grew closer and closer as it fell towards him. He knew he would be buried, and he knew that there was no way out.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Kristoff said. "It looks like I'll have to break my promise."

Kristoff then closed his eyes and peacefully accepted his fate.

 **To be continued in the next chapter**


	7. From Ashes

Previously on Frozen: The Last Paragons

Elsa, Talia, and Kristoff return to Arendelle only to find that the castle has been set on fire by the Red Wolves and Anna has been taken hostage. They trade the Key for Anna, and the Red Wolves flew. Kristoff is seemingly lost to the fire when he runs inside the castle to save more people.

* * *

 **7\. From Ashes**

Talia picked up a charred piece of wood from the ground. At least, it looked like a charred piece of wood. It could've been an old antique for all she knew. The fire left very little untouched on the inside. She looked around to see the burnt walls of the castle. Although the foundations of the castle were still up, they seemed incredibly weak as if the next wind could blow it all down. She looked up at the open roof, sunlight shining through the holes in the ceiling.

The rustling sound of footsteps on ash and burnt objects surrounded Talia as guards and servants were examining what was left of the castle. Everyone was silent. It was too hard to speak and process what had happened to the once-beautiful castle.

She was sick of her surroundings, so she left the castle through the cleared entrance. Outside, she saw Elsa and Anna. The elder sister had one hand on Anna's shoulder and the other gently rubbing the back of Anna's hair. Anna's face was black with soot except for the clear lines running down her face due to the tears.

Sven and Olaf slowly walked around the courtyard, gloomy and without the life that usually filled the both of them. They had just lost their best friend, and the shock of it was still going through them. It was especially hurting Sven since Sven practically knew Kristoff his entire life. The two were inseparable.

Elsa saw Talia approach and gently asked, "Did you find anything?"

Talia shook her head.

"They're still looking," Talia informed.

"Maybe he got out," Elsa suggested.

"If he got out," Anna sniffed, "he would be here with us. He promised me... He promised me he'd be okay."

Anna put her head against Elsa's shoulder. The Queen didn't mind her clothes getting damp from tears. She had to be there for her sister.

"Any word of the Red Wolves?" Talia asked Elsa.

"Really?!" Anna angrily asked, shooting a glare at Talia. "That's what matters most to you right now?"

"Of course not, Anna. I-"

"Listen to me, Talia! This is all _your_ fault! We were perfectly happy before you came along and ruined it. We were at peace!"

"Anna," Elsa said, "that's-"

"Kristoff would be my husband if it wasn't for you! Kristoff would be alive if it wasn't for you! Next time you think about involving innocent people in your business, do everyone a favor and don't!"

Talia couldn't rightfully respond to Anna's outburst. Not only could she think of a defense for herself on the spot, but she knew Anna to be right.

All she could manage to say was, "I'm... I'm sorry."

Talia slowly walked away from Anna and Elsa, her head held down.

"That was uncalled for," Elsa said, scolding her sister.

Anna immediately began to regret her harsh words. Her emotions and the stress of the past few hours were getting the better of her and bringing out a side of herself that she did not like. She didn't mean to lash out her frustrations at Talia like she did, but Talia unfortunately talked to her at the wrong time.

"Sorry, Elsa," Anna said. "Though, I suppose you shouldn't be the one I apologize to. I'll go talk to her."

"There'll be time for that later," assured Elsa. "How are you doing?"

"I- I'm..."

Anna began to break down once more, and Elsa embraced her sister once more. She gently rubbed the back of Anna's head as she wept on Elsa's shoulder.

"I loved him so much..." Anna said.

"I know," said Elsa. Elsa squeezed her eyes to prevent herself from crying with Anna. Kristoff meant a lot to her, too, but she had to appear strong.

"What's wrong with us, Elsa?" Anna asked. "We lose _everyone_ we love. We're cursed. Kristoff, Mom, and Dad - it's all the same."

"No, it's not the same this time," Elsa stated. "We couldn't do anything when we lost Mom and Dad."

"What can we do now?"

Elsa broke away from the hug and looked her sister in the eye and said, "We can avenge Kristoff."

* * *

Elsa, Talia, and Anna stood together at the window of Elsa's study - the highest room of the castle, overlooking the rest of the castle and of Arendelle. They had cleaned themselves up from the events of the previous night.

"You're right, Elsa," said Anna. "We need to do right by Kristoff. We have to avenge him."

Talia spoke up and said, "I can't imagine what you both are going through, and trust me when I say that I'm all for avenging Kristoff, but you two don't strike me as killers."

"The last thing I want to do is kill somebody," revealed Elsa. "That's not what I was thinking about."

Anna nodded. "Kristoff wouldn't want us to take a life in the name of his."

"We can honor Kristoff by making sure that the Red Wolves don't do this to anyone ever again. We have to make sure they never find Agartha, and we have to destroy the organization," Elsa continued.

Anna started saying, "Sorry, Talia. I know they raised you, but-"

"The Red Wolves have done more harm to you than they've done good to me," reminded Talia. "They'll find no sympathy from me. The problem with what you're saying is that it's a lot easier said than done."

"Naturally," said Elsa. "How do we go about this, Talia?"

"Well, we need to cut the head off of the snake," she replied. "Roth started and singlehandedly runs the Red Wolves. Without him organizing everything, the Red Wolves won't be able to function. Then there's Grimlock who's funding the operation. If we can take both of them down, it's mission accomplished. Again, it's easier said than done."

"What else do we know?" Anna asked.

"We know that they're looking for Agartha," continued Talia. "They have The Key which will unlock it for them, but no one knows where to find Agartha. Pabbie told us that our best bet of learning its location is Igo's tomb in Sweden where the dagger was found. Something tells me that that's where they're headed. We need to get the dagger from them before they can find and open Agartha."

"Simple enough," said Anna. "It's been a while since we had an adventure."

"Anna," Elsa called, "are you sure you want to be jumping back into this so soon?"

Anna sighed. "I have to do something, Elsa. I can't just stay here and cry until I'm all out of tears. This is how I do right by him. Besides, this is bigger than us. If we don't stop the Red Wolves, then Kristoff won't be their last victim. This isn't something I want to do - It's something I have to do."

Talia put her hand on Anna's shoulder and gave her a nod of respect. Elsa focused on Talia.

"You know them best," Elsa reminded. "How prepared are we for this?"

"They're the most elite fighting force in the world," said Talia, "backed by a man with an endless supply of money... But you have _ice_ powers so we still have the upper hand."

"I swore that I'd never use my powers to hurt others again," Elsa revealed. "I can't do anything with my powers that'll put lives in danger."

Elsa spent most of her life keeping herself and her powers in check so that she wouldn't harm anybody. Ever since she got full control of her powers, she hasn't harmed a hair on anyone. Using her powers to endanger the Red Wolves would be a betrayal of everything she had taught herself.

Elsa continued, "I draw the line when lives are at stake. Fair?"

Talia nodded. "Fair."

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Grimlock burst into the main cabin of the Red Wolf ship where Roth was calmly sitting at his desk, examining The Key with his feet propped up. The sudden slam of the door didn't faze Roth nor did he look away from his reflection in the ruby blade.

"If you're going to use my money," Grimlock angrily started, "please refrain from using it to start a damn war with Arendelle."

"Don't be so dramatic," said Roth. "You hired us for a job and this is how we do it."

"By burning a castle down?! Do you have any idea what the consequences are for me? My reputation and my career could be destroyed because of your sloppiness. If you were to piss off Queen Elsa, you should've at least done us the courtesy of killing her."

"My men were responsible for that, not me."

"Then you need to control your men!"

"When we find this place, what's one angry queen gonna matter?"

"She has the potential to turn the whole world against me! I know that you don't care, Jupiter, since you and your ilk live in the shadows and pride yourselves of your anonymity, but that does not give you excuse to play terrorist. We must only do what's necessary to reach Agartha, and if you burn another castle, I swear to God-"

"What'll you do, Ethan? Fire us? We're the best there is. Every single one of us that you lose is a step away from Agartha. If that weren't enough, you should know that we like to have the last word whenever we're 'fired.'"

"How dare you threaten me. This is _my_ operation funded by _my_ money. This is _my_ ship. That makes me in charge."

"The men currently running the ship are all loyal to me. Know that the only one here with power over anybody is me or would you like to test that theory? It's generous to even say that we're partners in this, Ethan, but you and I both know that you're just my cash-cow."

Grimlock fought his temptation to attack Roth for his insubordination, but he knew that Roth could easily subdue him if not kill him. He reckoned that Roth had a point; just because Grimlock was paying everyone didn't mean that he controlled everyone. Although his power was undermined, Grimlock knew that he was safe as long as he provided resources for the Red Wolves. He couldn't jeopardize his standing with the Red Wolves by entering open conflict with their leader.

"There is no honor among thieves," said Grimlock. "Fine, Jupiter. You do what you want as long as it gives us results."

"I'm glad you're opening your eyes," Roth said. "We're in this together now, Ethan. Elsa will try to hunt both of us. Your best chance of getting out of this with your life and reputation intact is to see things through with us until the end."

Grimlock stared at Roth, analyzing him and his motives. Although Grimlock was new in dealing with mercenaries, he was bright enough to know that mercenaries were never supposed to get invested in the job. Roth seemed like he had a personal stake in finding Agartha.

"You're not doing this for my money, aren't you," observed Grimlock.

Roth remained silent.

Grimlock continued, "You could've easily found yourself some other rich bastard to pay you for whatever but you chose to stick with me and chase after myths. What is it you're after, I wonder."

"Does it matter?" Roth asked.

"With stakes this high, yes."

"We all aspire to be more than we are, Ethan. That just means something different for the both of us."

* * *

Elsa, Anna, and Talia watched the guardsmen load crates and barrels onto the royal ship of Arendelle, the Iduna, named after Elsa and Anna's late mother. It was the afternoon. The three women stood at the helm of the relatively small ship, anticipating the last of the supplies to be moved from the docks onto the ship. Once it was done loading, they would cast off to sea.

Elsa and Anna were dressed in adventure-worthy attire. Elsa wore dark blue pants with black boots and a white shirt under a blue coat with a tail that reached her heels. Anna wore a buttoned-up black, long-sleeved shirt, green pants with black boots, and a purple cloak.

"You know," started Talia, "this is going to get dangerous."

"Don't try to talk us out of going," Anna lectured. "They took Kristoff from me. It's personal, and I have to do this."

"Not to mention that the fate of the world is possibly at stake," added Elsa.

"I'm not trying to discourage you guys," admitted Talia. "Just be ready to face some people you've never dealt with before. They don't tell you how to do this during queen or princess training or whatever it is you guys went through."

Elsa formed a snowball in her hand, tossed it up and caught it.

"Trust me," Elsa said. "I've got some things that _they've_ never seen before."

"Don't underestimate them," warned Talia. "I'm sure they won't underestimate you."

"Hey, where's Olaf?" Anna asked.

"I told him and Sven to stay back and watch Arendelle while we're gone," answered Elsa.

"That sounds like a horrible idea," Anna said.

"Actually, Kai and Gerda are keeping an eye on things," Elsa revealed. "I just needed to keep Sven and Olaf busy. They're gonna start rebuilding the castle exactly as it was."

"Your majesty," called a guard from behind the trio. "We've finished loading on the provisions."

"Then free the sails," Elsa ordered. "We're off to Sweden."

Elsa allowed the helmsman to take the wheel as she, Anna, and Talia watched, from the back of the ship, Arendelle becoming smaller and smaller the farther they sailed.

"You wanna know something, Talia?" Elsa asked. "We've never been outside of Arendelle before."

"That's... hard to believe," said Talia.

"I've wanted to explore other places for so long," Anna said, almost excited. "I just wish that we'd do it for fun, though... And, I wish Kristoff were here."

"What're things like out there?" Elsa asked.

Talia scratched the back of her head, trying to remember all of the places she had been and everything she did while she was over there. She remembered the general cultures and style of all the places she visited, but she never once visited a place for the sake of visiting. She always had a mission to do somewhere.

Talia was now, unofficially, Elsa and Anna's guide to the outside world - a role that she never once in a million years would have considered.

"Everywhere you go is different yet the same," Talia answered. "Like Arendelle, the days are filled with people crowding the streets and doing whatever they need to do. Some people are nice, some are meaner, although I will say that people outside of Arendelle lean more towards the meaner side."

"There are some places," Talia continued, "which are nothing like Arendelle. London, for example, is becoming more and more industrialized every day. It's definitely getting less charming, but in a way, that has its own charm to it."

Talia continued telling them stories of the outside world. Together, the three of them and their escort of two dozen guards went off to stop the Red Wolves.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

Atticus looked out of the back window of the ship's main cabin, examining the condition of his sword. He heard the door of the cabin open and turned his head to see Roth enter.

"So bold of you to claim such comforts for yourself, Atticus," Roth said. "What do you want?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," replied Atticus.

"If you have something to say, then say it."

"Vulcan burned their castle while their servants were trapped inside. He reduced it to ashes within blackened walls. Even by our standards, that's cruel."

"So your point is that Vulcan is too mean?"

"Vulcan may be an idiot, but he'd never spit in the face of royalty like that knowing damn well that there would be consequences. Even if he would, he wouldn't leave any witnesses. No, he wouldn't do this unless someone put him up to this, and I'm looking at the one man who could do just that."

"Mercury-"

"You just put us on the shit-list of arguably the most powerful being on the planet," Atticus continued. "I've known you for too long, and I know that there are no unintended consequences with you. Elsa, who lost a home and a friend because of you, now doesn't really have much else to do besides go after us which she most likely is doing. Something tells me that that's what you want to happen."

Roth stopped pacing around the cabin and took a seat at the desk in the center with his back facing Atticus.

"Nothing gets past you, huh?" Roth observed.

"I wouldn't be good at my job if they did."

"I taught you well," said Roth. "Too well for your own good."

"Mine or yours?" Atticus asked.

Roth chuckled. "Remains to be seen, I suppose. You're right - Elsa has a role to play in this."

"Stop being so goddamn cryptic, Roth, and tell me what you're after."

"For now, I'll keep this one close to the chest. When the time comes, you'll know. I don't need you questioning me, Atticus. I need you to trust me."

"You know I don't trust anyone."

"Then give me your loyalty if not your trust. You were wrong about one thing."

"What?"

"That I don't have unintended consequences."

"Where did it go wrong?"

"Your sister."

Atticus stopped examining his sword and sheathed it, focusing on Roth completely.

Roth continued to speak. "Atticus, your sister has proven to be an incredible inconvenience. The sooner she's out of the picture, the easier both our jobs will be."

"If you kill her-"

"I won't if she doesn't force my hand. She will have every opportunity to back out of this, and you might want to convince her to do that before things get ugly. But, if you fail and she persists, we will have no choice but to treat her like everyone else who gets in our way. If that happens, I need to know who's side you'll be on."

Atticus squeezed the handle of his sword, angered at the ultimatum he was given. It wasn't an easy choice he was offered: side with his sister, the only true family he had left, or side with the Red Wolves, the people who took him in and raised him.

"If it comes to it, you let me deal with her," answered Atticus.

Roth, although he knew that Atticus wasn't explicitly picking a side, accepted the answer.

"What's our next move?" Atticus asked.

"Back to Sweden," answered Roth. "I'm convinced we missed some things at the excavation site."

"You've had control over the site for a while," Atticus reminded. "What makes you so sure you'll find something new this time?"

"Because, now, we have the dagger... and an expert on the trolls."

As if on cue, the door to the cabin slammed open. Vulcan was holding the troll expert by the neck and threw him into the cabin, onto the hard wooden floor. Vulcan stepped in and slammed the door close behind him.

"You wanted to see him," Vulcan said to Roth.

"Thank you, Vulcan," Roth said.

The troll expert got on his feet and gave Roth a dirty glare.

Roth sarcastically greeted the man, saying, "Welcome on board... Kristoff."

 **To be continued in the next chapter**

* * *

Author's Note: I know, it's been a while. I've been completely swamped by college, and it's hard to find time to write for this story especially since I've been working on a lot of other creative projects. For now, I'm going to focus on this story but I'm not sure how long this focus will last.

Ciao


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